Similar but not Congruent
by mesmerizedbyceruleaneyes
Summary: How do I know the way your mind works? You are unpredictable. You are unfathomable. You are a tensai... But then, so am I. FujiXOCXYuushi with major YukimuraXOC, and NiouXOC with very minor Pillar Pair and ChoutarouXOC as side pairings.
1. Tokyo The New Girl

Prologue: Tokyo 

TSUKI

A very appetizing aroma drifted from the kitchen. "Tsukiko! It's time for dinner!" called my mother.

"Coming, coming…" I replied, not getting up from my bed.

"Tsukiko! This is important!"

Perhaps Father had received another promotion, which could only be a good thing – we might move to Tokyo, the capital. Kyoto was a big city, but it was just… different. And I needed a change of scenery... Plus, I'd heard that a Tokyo team had won this year's boys' tennis national tournament. I did keep track of such things… Kayuu-nii had been an avid tennis player, last time. But I'd stopped, partly because of him.

In any case, it didn't really matter. It would be nice to be in a new place.

Chapter 1: The New Girl 

FUJI

"Taihenda nya, Fujiko! I forgot to do the last page of English homework! Pleasepleaseplease let me copy yours!" A cat-like redhead skidded to a halt in front of me.

"Saa, Eiji, I really don't know. You're getting too reliant on me for such things," I said, just to watch him suffer.

"Fuuujiiiiiikooooo-chaaaaaaaan!!" He stared at me with pleading eyes.

I relented. "Fine, fine, here you go."

"Arigato Fujiko-chan! I owe you my life!"

"I hope you realize that sensei's already here…"

"Shoot!" He quickly stuffed the books under his desk. Yamada-sensei gave him a queer look, but then shook it off. He quickly quelled the noisy class by slapping a ruler against his desk.

"Class! Before we begin, we have a newcomer. Kindly welcome Hayashi Tsukiko to our class!"

He did seem to be alone…

Sensei coughed. "Excuse me, Tsukiko-chan. Please come in and introduce yourself."

There were footsteps outside the door, then a girl walked in.

The first thing that struck me was her hair. I had seen plenty of blonde girls, but never one with what is I believe called silverblonde hair. She had a whole sheet of these silvery tresses, all the way to her hips. I noticed that it had been cut in the layered style, one of the latest trends according to Yumiko-nee-chan if memory served me.

The color wasn't the sort of shade that you could obtain out of a bottle, and a natural blonde with Asian features was certainly not something you saw every day. She was extraordinary.

The next thing that caught my attention was her eyes. They were a clear grey color, and very sharp. She seemed to look over the entire class, checking if they met her standards, before smiling politely, her eyes closing slightly.

"Fuji, she's really cute, don't you think? But that smile reminds me a bit of you…" whispered Eiji.

Interesting. I had a fellow smiler.

EIJI

The new girl seriously reminded me of Fujiko-chan. It was unnerving.

"Introduce yourself, please," said Sensei.

She opened her eyes, and I half-expected them to have become a bright cerulean blue like those of a _certain somebody_. I was relieved when they remained grey, though they seemed slightly different from before.

"I am Hayashi Tsukiko, from Kyoto. I am half Japanese and half Belgian on my mother's side, which is why I look Eurasian. I have no favorite subject. I hope to be able to integrate into this class well," she said.

I raised my hand, wanting to ask why she had transferred to Seigaku.

Ignoring me, she continued, "Before anyone asks, I transferred to this school because my father's company had posted him here in Tokyo. If you have any personal questions, please address them directly to me instead of asking before an audience."

She had totally read my mind! While I was trying to get over the shock, Sensei coughed. "Tsukiko-chan, as you seem to be quite a good speaker, I would like to recommend the Debate Society, of which I am the teacher-in-charge. We need people like you, and I believe you have not chosen to join any club yet."

"Thank you for your kind offer, Yamada-sensei. I will think about it," she said politely.

"Well, then, choose a seat. There is one at the back next to Nagano-kun and one near the middle next to Kikumaru-kun."

She looked at the two seats before moving in my direction. Oh dear. I was going to be sitting between Fujiko and someone who seemed to be a female replica of him.

TSUKI

Even after Yamada-sensei had begun teaching, I did not remove my polite face. His class was lackluster, and he acted like we were all still in grade school, unable to understand the slightest thing. I listened with one ear while I began to map out the class.

The first thing I noticed was that very few people were paying attention. Most of the other students were staring off into space or playing with various items such as their stationery or their hair. One boy was even drooling, obviously fast asleep. The girls, however, were quite occupied. Many were drawing in their books; others whispered to their friends on either side. A large number, I noticed, did not look very happy at my presence.

Too bad, I thought. You'll only have to put up with me till graduation, and then I'll be out of your hair.

EIJI

Whoa, she was really a master of the poker face, able to look interested even in Yamada-sensei's class. Just like a certain tensai who happened to be sitting on my other side. It was starting to get creepy, how very alike the two of them were. At least she didn't close her eyes all the time.

I plucked up my courage, reached across the aisle and poked her arm. "Hoi, Tsukiko-chan!"

She turned and looked at me. "Yes?"

Phew. Her eyes weren't as scarily piercing as Fujiko's.

"Wanna come for lunch with me and Fujiko-chan? That guy on my left, I mean."

She stared at me, eyes suddenly a metallic silver. "Why are you asking? Trying to get in close already?"

I pouted. She was being so mean. But on the bright side, it showed that she really wasn't a female version of Fujiko. He'd never say anything like that.

"I was just offering, you know," I huffed. "But don't if you don't want to."

Suddenly the faint scowl vanished and was replaced by a genuine smile. After hanging out with Fujiko for so long, I was getting pretty good at telling when smiles were real or just for show.

"Kikumaru-kun!" rapped out Yamada-sensei. "Kindly read the next paragraph for the class and tell us what you think the author means to say in it."

I leapt to my feet. "H-hai sensei!" Inwardly I was freaking out. I hadn't been paying any attention and had no idea what I was supposed to read and explain.

"Page 87, paragraph 5," came two simultaneous whispers from either side.

No time to dwell on the freakishness of it now. I began reading.

TSUKI

"Thanks! You saved me!" Kikumaru whispered the moment he sat back down.

I wasn't sure who he was talking to, Fuji or I. After all, we had said the same thing at the same time to the same person for the same purpose. So, I didn't answer.

He looked at me. "Didn't you hear me, Tsukiko-chan? I said thanks!"

Apparently he had been addressing me. I smiled at him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were talking to your 'Fujiko-chan'," I apologized. "And actually, if your offer still stands, I'd like to take you up on it."

His wide eyes betrayed his confusion. "Offer?"

"Yes, about lunch. I'd like to go with you."

He blinked at me. "Why'd you suddenly change your mind?"

I had half-expected him to just accept my decision without a word, but it seemed that he wasn't as dumb as I had thought.

Giving him the most angelic smile I could muster at the moment, I told him, "If I didn't go for lunch with you, your fangirls are going to give me a hard time. And I don't really want a hard time on my first day here. It leaves a very bad impression, don't you think?"

"Nya, so this is really all about you, then?"

"Oh no, what on _earth_ made you think that?" Inwardly, I grinned. He really wasn't so dumb. Maybe lunch with him and his teammate wouldn't be so bad.

"Well, actually you're right. But when I told you no the first time, you looked so sad. That really made me feel guilty," I informed him. "So, does the offer still stand? Am I going for lunch with you two? Or am I going to get eaten _for_ lunch by these drama and cheerleading fangirls of the both of you? I believe I am right when I say that you are the most popular in Seigaku."

He looked surprised. "How did you know that, nya?"

"Just looking at this class is enough. One-third of the girls in this class have been glaring daggers at me since you started talking to me, while the other two-thirds of the class have been ignoring me and gazing starry-eyed at dear "Fujiko-chan". Only five girls are exempt from either of these behavioral patterns; I suspect they crush on other members of your team or have boyfriends from other clubs. Also, your reaction when I informed you of the results of my observations concluded that I was correct." I knew my smile was bordering on a smirk, but that couldn't be helped. "Well? Am I allowed to tag along with you two for lunch?"

He seemed to think it over, then shrugged. "Sure."

Good. I was safe, for lunch at least.

EIJI

I really didn't know what freaked me more, her original resemblance to Fujiko or her growing resemblance to Inui. If a new girl absolutely _had_ to resemble my teammates, couldn't she have picked someone less freaky, like Momo or Oishi?

**A/N: First fic ever written, so please be kind…? I hope the storyline isn't too cliché… Reviews would help**


	2. You Sure Don't Look Like It

Chapter 2: You sure don't look like it 

FUJI

"It's lunchtime it's lunchtime it's lunchtime, nya! Come on we need to show Tsukiko-chan around and meet up with everyone else!" Eiji was bouncing around enthusiastically.

"Maa, Eiji, we've got plenty of time. You didn't tell me that Tsukiko-chan is coming too," I said. Actually, I had had a feeling that she would be, since the pair of them had been talking since Eiji had finished his piece.

I looked over at her. Unless I was mistaken her very eyes had changed. They had originally been a cloudy kind of grey, but now they were a bright, clear grey. They were also unnaturally sharp, and seemed to see straight through me.

"We haven't been introduced, have we?" she asked.

"I'm Fuji Syuusuke. And Yamada-sensei already introduced you as Hayashi Tsukiko-chan," I replied.

Her smile widened. "As if I didn't know my own name. If you don't mind, please call me Tsuki."

"Nya, then you must call me Eiji!" Eiji jumped onto her.

There was a flurry of movement too fast for me to see, and then Eiji was clutching his left arm, howling in pain.

Tsuki-chan was glaring at Eiji. "Don't you ever do that to me again, or you'll think that _that_" – she indicated his arm – "was a token of my love."

I could see respect for her mixed with anger and confusion in his eyes. He pouted at her, wide navy eyes brimming. "Tsuki-chan, you meanie!"

Her eyes faded from metallic silver to soft grey, and she sighed. "Okay, maybe I shouldn't have hit you so hard. You look too much like a cat, and I love cats." She helped him to his feet.

"Saa, Tsuki-chan, you sure don't look like you take martial arts," I commented. I meant it. She had limbs even slimmer than mine, and I was considered scrawny.

She gave me a smile bordering on a smirk. "I did say that you should _ask_ if you wanted to know anything personal."

"That's not something personal! It's important! You could've killed me!" complained Eiji.

Her eyes crinkled in amusement. "Okay, in penance, I will answer any two personal questions you may wish to ask."

Eiji brightened. "Do you have any siblings?"

She frowned slightly, hesitating before answering. "No… Why do you ask?"

"Just asking…" Eiji shrugged.

"Okay, I've answered one question. I will only answer one more." She looked at me. "Since Eiji here asked one already, would you want to ask the other?" Her eyes glinted. "One question and _only_ one."

Hmm. She was tricky. Well, two could play at a game.

TSUKI

I could practically see the gears in his brain turning. I had offered him the second question partly as a challenge, and he seemed to know it. He was definitely going to test me right back.

He cocked his head on one side. "Tsuki-chan, what do you do?"

I blinked. Was that it?

"When I ask, I mean in the fields of music, athletics, art, academics, etc. Everything." His smile would definitely have to be classified as a smirk.

He had trapped me and he knew it. The question had been far too simple and innocent to be harmless. Since the field had not been stated, I had to say _everything_.

I didn't want to admit it, but he was smart. I scowled at him, but inwardly I was grinning. It was nice when someone met me at my own level.

"Since your question demands a _long_ answer, let's be methodical about it. What do you want to know first?"

Fuji shrugged. "How about music? What instruments do you play?"

He _had_ to ask that. "I play the violin," I said, trying to avoid answering it in full.

My hopes were in vain. "All, please." Damn. How did he know I wasn't telling everything?

I made a face at him. "Fine. I play the violin, flute and harp."

Eiji stared at me. "_Really_?! So many instruments?!"

I nodded. "What next?" I asked Fuji.

"Hmm, how about art?"

"Define 'art'."

"Painting, drawing, sculpting, sewing… handicrafts in general. And cooking. And other aesthetics like dance." The smirk was still there.

I mentally berated myself for challenging this smiling demon. "I'm generally – below average – in that area. I do sew a bit, and I used to do ballet but as for the rest…" I left it to their imagination.

"Aw, don't cry Tsuki-chan, nobody's perfect!" said Eiji, making as if to jump onto me but at the last moment pulled back and patted my shoulder instead.

I smiled. That seemed to have worked pretty well. Then I looked at the brunette.

"Next?" . 

"Saa, let's hear about your academic prowess." n.n

"Indeed, I have prowess in everything." :-P

"USSO nya!" O.O

"Ah, sou ka." n.n "Well, same here. Shall we go on to athletics?"

"Sigh." -.- "Fine. I swim, do karate and figure skating, and I can handle most racket sports too."

"Oh! We're both in the school tennis club; do you want to join?" Pleading navy eyes stared into mine.

"I'll think about it," I replied, smiling. "Maybe I could see just how bad the fangirls here are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" inquired Fuji.

"Only fangirls join the tennis club, ne? Because of all you irresistible guys on the boys' team… though that doesn't apply to _you_, Fuji." I said, half-teasing. He really was quite cute, in a softer way than the usual macho look that westerners seemed to prefer.

He just smiled.

TSUKI

Everything just confirmed my theory that Eiji and Fuji were _the_ most popular guys in Seigaku. Giggles and blushes preceded us, and we were followed by squeals of delight. "Fuji-sama _smiled_ at me!" "I _touched_ Kikumaru-sempai's uniform! I'm never going to wash my hands again!" "_Kawaii!_" and etc. The girls were giving me looks of great displeasure – "Who's that girl with Kikumaru-sama?" "_How dare she_ have direct contact with Fuji-sama?! She isn't even a member of his fan club!" and if I wasn't mistaken, even some of the male students were giving me jealous looks.

"Well, maybe the wonderful 'Fuji-sama' looks androgynous enough to get fan_boys_ as well as fangirls…" I thought. How interesting.

"Tsuki-chan, you seem amused," observed Fuji.

How did he know? I was sure I had not emitted a sound, not had my expression change. Except for maybe my 'innocent' smile leaning more to a sadistic smirk.

"Why do you think I am amused?" I inquired.

He smiled. Then again, he was almost _always_ smiling, so there may not have been any significance to it.

"Your eyes change with your moods, Tsuki-chan. If you did not know that, then you are sadly ignorant as to yourself."

I take back what I said about the smile. As there was no such thing as a sadistic smile, it would have to be a sadistic _smirk_.

I quickly regained my composure, returning the aforementioned sadistic _smirk_ with my best megawatt completely angelically _innocent_ smile. "Is that so? Then would you like to tell me exactly _why_ you have been observing my eyes so closely and _who_ gave you permission to analyze me?"

He conveniently ignored the first question, instead saying, "Saa, I didn't know I required permission to observe you."

This time it was _him _giving me a megawatt completely angelically _innocent_ smile. Did he expect me to roll on my back in submission or swoon in delight like one of his numerous fangirls and fanboys? If he did, he was in for a disappointment.

I replied with a blinding ultra-sweet smile _and_ a sugary voice. "Oh really? I'm flattered, truly I am. And what would have caused the great Fuji-sama of the thousand-member fangirl _and fanboy_ clubs to grace this unworthy wretch with his much sought-after attention?"

Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed Eiji was watching us with an apprehensive look on his face. At least he was smart enough to let us fight out our smiling battle.

**A/N: Sorry for short chapters. They were longer on Microsoft Word… Hopefully my OC isn't too Mary-Sue? If she is, then sorry… review please**


	3. Regulars, Secrets, Plans

Chapter 3: Regulars, Secrets and Plans 

EIJI

This was scary. I could see that this was a verbal battle, and the fact that they were _smiling_ throughout was even scarier. "Please please please Kami-sama stop them…" I prayed silently. I knew better than to stop them myself. For one, if I did I knew I would regret I had been born; two, I had a feeling only a divine intervention could stop them now.

My prayers were answered. "Eiji!"

I turned around. "Oishi!"

My doubles partner hurried over. "Eiji, do you…" Seeing Fujiko and Tsuki-chan, her trailed off. "Erm… did I interrupt something?"

The two glared at him. He cowered. "_Yes._"

"Ehhh… _Gomenasai!!_" he cried.

They continued glaring at him for a few more seconds, then looked at each other.

"You're saved. Next time you won't be so lucky," said Tsuki-chan.

"Oh no, it was you who got off the hook. You really don't want to know what would have happened if Oishi didn't interrupt," retorted Fuji.

"We'll save it for the next time then."

"Of course."

Tsuki-chan raised an eyebrow at Oishi. "I don't believe we've met…" Her tone made it clear she was still kind of pissed at him for interrupting the battle with Fujiko.

Oishi could tell she was mad too. Bowing repeatedly, he apologized, "Sorry! Oishi Syuichirou, yoroshiku onegaishimasu!"

"Hayashi Tsukiko." Her face and voice indicated that their conversation was over.

The atmosphere grew tense; I really felt sorry for Oishi. Luckily, relief soon arrived in the form of the rest of the team.

"Nya! People!" I jumped onto Echizen.

"Eiji-sempai… can't… breathe… leggo…" Echizen choked out.

"Who's this?" asked Momo.

"Fssshhhh… Obviously she's someone new, baka peach…" hissed Kaidoh.

"What did you say, baka Mamushi?!"

"Quiet!" ordered Tezuka-buchou.

"Hais…"

Fujiko had his normal smile back on. "Saa, shall we proceed for lunch?"

TSUKI

I ignored the furious looks that the various fangirls and fanboys sent me throughout lunch. "Idiots," I thought contemptuously. There was much more to life than crushes.

Lunch was a noisy affair. The two sophomores, Momo and Kaidoh, argued constantly, with the egghead Oishi trying in vain to calm them down. Eiji teased the freshman, Echizen, about somebody called Ryuuzaki, apparently the team's coach's granddaughter. Fuji watched everyone's antics with amusement; Tezuka-buchou ate in silence, keeping an eye on everyone, while Kawamura tried to engage me in polite conversation.

"Ano, Tsuki-chan, what is the lesson you are taking immediately after lunch?"

I wasn't too sure, and I told him so. Kawamura – or Taka-san, as most of the regulars called him – tapped Fuji on the shoulder. "Fuji, what is your next lesson?"

Fuji tilted his head on one side, and half the fangirl population fainted. "Hmm… I believe that it is advanced math, so that mean's it is Eiji's free period. Are you taking it?"

"Yes. Do we need to go to a different class?" I asked.

"Actually, we do. I'll take you if you want," he offered.

"Thanks."

Eiji, who was busy messing up the small freshman's hair, looked up and beamed, making the other half of the fangirl population swoon. "Nya, I get a free period while you wring out your brains with A-math!" he cheered.

"We ought to be going now," said the captain abruptly.

"Yes, buchou…."

FUJI

"Here we are. After you, my lady," I said, half-teasingly.

Normally, girls would have gone to pieces at the gesture, but Tsuki-chan just smiled. "No need to act the gentleman, Fuji."

"Just testing the waters," I replied with false seriousness.

"If you say so… By the way, is this something like the only A-math class in the level or something? There do seem to be a lot of people…"

"No; for this class they combined the A-math students from our class – 3-6 – and Tezuka's class – 3-1 – together," I explained.

"Does Tezuka-san take A-math? He does look like the type who would," she remarked.

"Yes, he does… actually, he should have gotten here faster than us, considering that he _was_ one of the first to leave," I mused aloud, glancing around the room. "Strange… maa, Echizen also left early…"

Tsuki-chan blinked. "What does _that_ have to do with the price of peas in Paris?"

I chuckled. "Guess. You seem smart enough."

TSUKI

Echizen… Tezuka… Hmm… if I remembered correctly, Tezuka had been glaring at Eiji when the latter had been teasing Echizen… he also ordered us to leave when Eiji got a bit rougher in his playfulness…

I snapped my fingers in front of Fuji's face to get his attention – he seemed to be spacing out a bit. "Hello, Fuji? Does Tezuka's tardiness by chance have anything to do with that freshman?"

His eyelids flickered open in surprise, giving me a glimpse of bright sapphire before he smiled and his eyes closed again. "Very perceptive, Tsuki-chan. Full marks for observation. They weren't being very obvious about it; in fact I only realized less than a week ago, and I haven't had the chance to get any blackmail on them yet."

"Oh? Are you saying that their relationship is perhaps… closer… than it really ought to be?" I asked idly, concealing the fact that my curiosity had been piqued.

He smiled. "Oh, it's more than a 'perhaps' – if truth be told, I think it's more of a 'definitely'. Interested, aren't we?"

Ignoring the question, I asked, "Is getting blackmail on them really so hard?"

"Yes, because they know that I'd hunt them just for the fun of it. The blackmail is simply an added bonus. Care to join me in stalking them?" Brilliant cerulean gleamed tantalizingly from beneath exceptionally long eyelashes. He truly deserved those fangirls, I admitted to myself.

I smiled. "Very well, Fuji Syuusuke. It's a deal. Shall we work together on the next project assigned for pair work? Because –"

"Because then we can plan together without arousing suspicion as to the large amount of time spent in each other's company," finished Fuji. "I know these things, Tsuki-chan. I _am_ the resident sadistic trickster of the Seigaku Tennis Team. In any case, when we do get proof of any dirty doings of our wonderful buchou and Ochibi, we will have _the_ best blackmail material ever." Identical sadistic smirks adorned both our faces.

Something in his description of himself caught my attention. Why hadn't he referred to himself as a tensai?

FUJI

She did seem to have quite a brain in her pretty head. I'd really meant it when I asked her to join me on the blackmail plan. She intrigued me in a way that few often did. She would be a good friend, a good companion.

And plus, if we were seen together more, my fangirls might back off too. It was a win-win situation both ways. Hey, I could use circumstances to my benefit too, couldn't I?

**A/N: This is a FujiXOC. It IS. Really.**

**Review. ******


	4. Meeting Koori Saiya

Chapter 4: Meeting Koori Saiya 

TSUKI

Kami, I decided, was a really nice candy lady.

In that very lesson, immediately after striking the blackmail deal with Fuji, the advanced math's teacher announced a project to be done in pairs. Needless to say, we both smirked inwardly, while outwardly holding on to our respective poker faces. The teacher immediately approved of our pairing, since I was a new student and she felt that I would need the resident tensai of Seigaku to show me the ropes.

Which was how I found myself watching the afternoon Seigaku tennis practice, since I didn't exactly have anything else to do while waiting for Fuji.

I stretched out under a convenient tree. Screaming fangirls lined the opposite end of the courts. "I really would like to see what they would do on Valentine's Day…" I thought idly. "Sometimes I really pity those guys… they probably get swamped with chocolates and marriage proposals every year…"

My thoughts continued along the same line for some time. Just when I was beginning to think that a nap would be nice, I heard footsteps behind me and sensed an unfamiliar presence.

"State your business," I ordered, "then leave me in peace so I can sleep."

I heard a sharp intake of breath. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone else would be here. My name is Koori Saiya."

The name was intriguing. "Ice?" I asked, turning around.

The girl giggled nervously. "Yes... Who're you? I don't know you…"

"Hayashi Tsukiko. But please call me Tsuki."

"So, you're the 'child of the moon'," she commented.

I nodded, looking her over. She had wavy, soft brown hair, paired with huge doe-like eyes in a small, sharp-featured face. Her frame was thin and very fragile-looking. She looked like she'd break if you touched her too hard.

"Sorry for telling you to buzz off," I apologized. "I'm actually here to get away from those obsessive fangirls at the courts."

Walking over, she settled herself on the grass beside me. " I see," she replied, setting the drawing block she had been carrying onto her lap.

"Are you going to draw them and then sell the pictures for pocket money? I have a feeling you would make millions," I said idly.

She giggled again. "True. But even if I _wanted_ to draw them, I can't. Not from here anyway. We're much to far away for me to be able to draw them I detail."

"Point," I conceded. "So what are you going to draw?"

"You, maybe," she said, after some thought.

I blinked in surprise, then grinned. "I don't mind. What position would you like?"

SAIYA

I hadn't seriously expected her to accept. In fact, I had more thought that she would have given me a strange look and run off.

But I was curious about this girl, who looked much more suitable to have the name "Ice", and I was quite sure she was curious about me too. Plus, drawing her would be interesting.

"Hmm… choose your own position. It needs to be something comfortable," I explained. "Or else you'd be complaining of muscle ache before I'm half done."

"If that's so, then how can you draw them playing tennis?" she asked, gazing at the regulars to make plain who 'they' meant.

She was sharp as well as icily gorgeous.

"Well, I _can_ do pictures of what I glimpse too, but if I don't need to then I'd rather take my time."

She shrugged. "Up to you…" she murmured, lying back down in the position I had first seen her in.

As I sketched in her vague outline, I ventured a question. "What class are you in?"

"3-6," she replied.

My ears perked up. "The same class as the tensai Fuji Syuusuke?"

I saw a look of vague irritation flit across her features, but it was gone almost before it had come. "Yes."

Time to get myself into deep water. "Eto… Do you like him?"

Her eyes seemed to change from silver to cloudy grey. "Why do you ask?"

"Almost everybody does," I said evasively.

"Do _you_?"

My hand slipped, drawing a large slash across the paper. As I carefully erased it, I heard her say," Saa… looks like I was right."

I blinked at her. Did she even know how much she sounded like _him_?

She took advantage of my confusion to start asking questions herself. "So, what class are _you_ in?"

"3-1," I said, filling in the parts of the drawing I had been forced to erase to get rid of the unsightly line.

"Hmm… Tezuka's class?"

"Yes, it's Tezuka-san's class. I've been in his class ever since I entered Seigaku," I added.

"Is it something to be proud of?"

Once again I blinked in surprise. Her point of view was certainly unique.

"I suppose… he is one of the best students in our year…" I mumbled, not very sure of how to answer.

"_One_ of the best? Then, who is _the_ best?"

I swear she was manipulating me to get onto the subject of _him_. "Fuji Syuusuke," I mumbled, barely above a whisper.

Her eyes were so brightly silver they were practically glowing. "Wouldn't you be prouder – not to mention happier – if you were in _his_ class instead?"

How had I fallen so easily into her trap? Trying to save what scraps of dignity I still had, I sat up straight and glared at her. The effect was somewhat spoiled by the fact that she was not looking at me, but instead staring up at the sky.

"You know, the way you're acting," I said heatedly, "I'd say you're jealous!"

The smile on her face never twitched. "Jealous, ne? Why would I be jealous of someone who has spent three years in the class of a piece of wood? Not to mention someone whose sexual orientation is yet to be proven…" She let the sentence trail off.

At the very suggestion that Tezuka-san, _the_ great Tezuka-san, might not be straight, my hand involuntarily jerked, resulting in another unsightly slash across the page. This time, I was too shocked to even try to erase it.

"Good Kami-sama…You have _got_ to be kidding me."

TSUKI

Her reaction was priceless. I was having a very hard time hanging on to my poker face.

Perhaps I should torture her some more, I thought. Then, seeing the look of shock and horror on her face, I decided to be kind. "Don't worry, Saiya-chan, I didn't mean that."

The look of relief was almost equally funny. "_Phew!_ Please don't do that so me again, Tsuki-chan. I don't want to die of heart failure so young."

Time passed fairly quickly after that. She willingly told me all she could about Seigaku – that is, as long as we did not touch on the subject of the boys' tennis team. Since it was obvious that she was still touchy about any mention of _him_, I did not mention that I was his project partner (_and_ blackmail partner, thought nobody else needed to know about that). Thus, when I saw that the boys were all returning to the building that I deduced was the clubhouse, I stood up and bid her goodbye.

"Ja ne, Saiya-chan."

"Will you be here again tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.

I thought about it. "Most likely, yes."

She smiled happily. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Nodding, I took my leave. Kami was definitely on my side today. I had expected her to follow me when I decided to leave, but happily this did not turn out to be.

I walked to the school gate, knowing that if I tried to meet Fuji at the tennis courts I could expect to be stampeded by crazed fangirls. The prospect was not a very inviting one.

He certainly took his time to change. I'd seen Echizen, Momo, Kaidoh, and Inui off before he finally chose to make an appearance. I was pleased to find that he had somehow managed to shake off his troop of fangirls before coming out.

"How did you get rid of your fangirls?" I asked.

"Would you rather I kept them?"

I shuddered at the very thought. "No way."

"Saa, shall we go?" His smile had real amusement lurking in its corners.

I returned it with one of my own. "Bring it on."

**A/N: Nothing to say… just review, ne?**


	5. The Fuji Family

Chapter 5: The Fuji Family 

Tsuki

"Tsukiko, I've been meaning to ask you – who exactly is this Fuji Syuusuke person you're doing that project with?" Mother addressed me over breakfast on Saturday.

I groaned. "Its too early, Mother…"

Hiyashi Kisaki, my mother, was always inhumanly cheerful and playful in the morning. I, on the other hand, invariably had drooping eyelids, drooping limbs _and_ drooping personality to boot, every single morning. My awareness was way below optimum, my guards could be measured in millimeters and to top it all my poker face was nonexistent.

"Ne, Tsukiko, who is he? The cutest guy in the level? Your latest crush? Come on, I _know_ that there's _something_!" She ruffled my hair as she walked past.

I glared at her. "What do you mean, 'my latest crush'? Since _when_ did I ever have _any_ crush?"

"Oh, so you've forgotten about all those boys back in Kyoto and Osaka and London already? They'll be heartbroken, Tsukiko. Still, I do hope that this Fuji-kun is good-looking – are there many girls after him?"

"He _does_ have the largest fan club in the school… but he's just a pretty boy…"

"There! You admit he's cute!"

I threw up my hands in exasperated surrender. There was no way I could win this, not right now anyway.

"Anyway, honey, I know this is your first weekend since you started school here, but I'm sure there's got to be _some_ homework to be done, right?" She gave me a smile that was a masterpiece of marzipan and other sugary stuff.

I sighed. "Hai, hai, I'll go get started…" I dragged myself up to my room. Why, oh _why_ did I have to be so foolish as to choose the attic room for my bedroom? I wondered, not for the first time. And, also not for the first time, I answered myself, because it has the most privacy. I sighed. Again.

Mornings were definitely not for me.

Checking the homework diary (whose purpose is obvious), I began locating the materials needed for the work assigned. "Science" – taking out science textbook – "English Literature" – locating out the assigned book – "Math"… I rummaged through the bag. The required textbook was not in attendance.

I growled. This was _not_ my day.

Just then, I heard my cell phone vibrate. Locating it under the pile of things, I flipped it open. "Moshi mosh…" I mumbled, not checking to see who the caller was.

"Tsuki-chan?"

"Get on with whatever you called me about. You have ten seconds to explain your business before I hang up and go back to bed." I was a bear in the morning and I didn't care who knew it.

It turned out that I should have cared. After all, it was never a good thing to be cranky when the caller was the sadist Fuji Syuusuke.

FUJI

I smirked into the receiver. Just going by her voice, I could tell she wasn't fully awake and aware yet. This could be fun.

"Oh, dear, am I sorry for having interrupted your beauty sleep. Permit me to remind you of our date today. I certainly hope you haven't forgotten," I said in the most sincere voice I could summon at that moment.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. I could almost hear the gears in her head grinding as she processed the information. Sure that an explosion was coming, I held the receiver a few inches away from my ears.

I wasn't disappointed. "WHAT THE –!!!"

My smirk grew. "Maa, Tsuki-chan, calm down. Surely you didn't forget. Perhaps you just haven't woken up completely yet…" I said in a pacifying tone. "You have reason for being… tired, don't you? After all, it's not every night you have some _playtime_ in bed…"

A sound of harsh breathing came from the receiver. "That's it. You're _dead_, Fuji Syuusuke."

Even though I knew she couldn't see me, I put on an innocent expression reminiscent of Eiji's kitty-like face. "Mou, Tsuki-chan, I'm sure you didn't mean to say that."

"You have _no_ idea. Stop that teasing, I mean it. And take that smirk off your face. Do not say that you aren't because it's so wide I can see it from _my_ house," she grumbled.

I finally relented. In the week I had known her, I had found that she did actually have the potential to make me sorry I had crossed her, given the right materials and time. Naturally, I didn't _intend_ to give them to her.

"Fine, fine, Tsuki-chan. You didn't have to get so worked up. Though I'm not complaining…" It was hard work, repressing the laugh that was bubbling up my throat at the memory of her scream.

"Whatever. I know you're trying not to laugh. Why _did_ you call, anyway? Is it anything regarding my Math homework?"

I contemplated telling her no, I did _not_ have her Math question sheet. But before I could say anything, she added, "Don't even think about telling me it isn't. I have a very strong suspicion that it's at your house."

I sighed. How did she know me so well? "Yes, Tsuki-chan, you left it here yesterday. It slipped out of your file, I expect. Come over and get it."

There was an exasperated groan. "Can't you bring it here? It's too early now… and anyway you _are_ supposed to be the gentleman helping out the poor damsel in distress."

"I never claimed the title of 'gentleman'. That's Rikkai's Yagyuu. And anyway, I want you to meet Yuuta."

"Your younger brother from St Rudolph, right?" There was a note of interest in her voice. "Okay, I'm coming. The door will be open, right?"

TSUKI

I walked through the gate of the Fuji's house. It was almost as familiar as my own house – the amount of time I had spent in either did not differ by much. The door opened just as I set foot on the porch and Fuji's head popped around it.

Really, I swear he has psychic senses. It wasn't as if I'd made a lot of noise coming in.

"Ohayo, Tsuki-chan. Come in and meet Yuuta." The tiny smug tint to his smile showed that he knew he had unnerved me.

I made a face at him; it was still too early for me to have my poker face in working order. "You look as smug as a cat that's got the cream," I informed him, obeying.

"Cranky, aren't we?" he asked with mock concern. Even without turning around, I knew he was smirking.

"Cut the teasing, Fuji. It's still too early," I grumbled, not even trying to deny my crankiness. Spotting the other occupant of the room, I said, "Would you be Fuji Yuuta?"

The younger boy looked up. "No I wouldn't, but I don't exactly have a choice. Who are you?"

"Hayashi Tsukiko. The name's Tsuki." Inspecting him, I realized why he had said what he did when I asked whether he was Fuji Yuuta.

He had cropped brown hair, dark grey eyes and a cross-shaped scar on his right temple. – a slightly bad-boy kind of good-looking. That's not so bad, people might think. And it wasn't so bad. He was your average guy with average looks and average brains. _But_, 'average' in the Fuji family was… below average. And the sad thing was, he knew it. Oh yes, he knew it all too well.

YUUTA

Tsuki-chan spent the rest of the day with us. Partly because Aniki challenged her to see who could finish their Math homework faster. Partly because Yumiko-nee-chan wouldn't let her leave without sampling my cooking. And also partly because we had a few things to talk to her about.

At my request, Yumiko-nee-chan lured off Aniki by suggesting that they start to cook dinner for us. Tsuki-chan and I remained in the sitting room, which was far Aniki being able to eavesdrop.

"Tsuki-san, you seem very comfortable with Aniki. Like, you're not swooning every time he happens to brush against you or something," I began.

She smiled and shrugged. "I'm not part of his fan club, so maybe that's why I don't swoon over him."

"But Tsuki-san, Aniki is so popular with the girls. Why aren't you attracted by him?" I asked, baffled.

Tsuki-chan looked at him straight in the eye. "Because he doesn't _want_ to attract me."

"How would you know? _Nobody_ I know can read what Aniki's really thinking behind his poker face," I argued.

"I know because – I understand him. Yes, I've known him for less than a week, but somehow I can relate to him very well. I think maybe it's because we are both tensais..." Her face was open and sincere.

I stared at her. "You are a tensai, too?"

"Yes. Being a tensai… it's not what you think, Yuuta." Her eyes were dark grey, like an overcast sky just before the rain, almost the same shade as my own.

The room was filled with a vaguely uncomfortable silence.

A call from the subject of the conversation broke in before it became too unbearable. "Yuuta! I need some help here!"

TSUKI

I went over the next day as well, because Yumiko wanted me to meet Yuuta's team manager, Mizuki Hajime. At first I was rather surprised by the way Fuji referred to him as 'the purple freak', but when I saw him, I had to agree. He was purple. Very purple. And he had a distinctly odd sense of style – how many people could wear radioactive purple with huge pink roses embroidered on them and yet maintain such composure?

After he'd left, I turned to Fuji. "I can see why you call him a purple freak."

Fuji nodded. "He always wears _something_ purple as long as he's out of school, or so I gather from what Yuuta says."

"I said no such thing. You infer too deeply," snapped Yuuta, stomping off. Obviously he was worn out from having to 'put up' with Fuji.

I saw Fuji's face muscles twitch slightly, but the smile remained intact, albeit a little tense. Seeing that I was watching him, he relaxed. "Saa… he'd have said something along those lines anyway."

Tentatively, I put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't pull away. Perhaps he felt my silent sympathy, perhaps he didn't; but I definitely hoped he did. Turning, the deep orange rays of the sun burned into my eyes, and I realized how late it was.

"Sorry, but I need to go now," I said apologetically. "See you in school."

"Of course." He smiled, and I was quite sure it was genuine.

FUJI

"Yo, Tsuki-chan," I smiled. "Saa, who would have thought? You've been here for more than a week already."

She raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that as a good thing?"

"Now, _that_ is entirely up to you," I replied.

"Tsuki-chan!" Eiji bounced up. "Congratulations on the anniversary of your first day in Seigaku!"

"Thank you, Eiji," she answered, regarding the redhead with obvious amusement.

A cough sounded behind us. "Excuse me, Hayashi-chan, but as your friends have been telling you, it _has_ been a week already. By now, you should have signed up for a club," said Yamada-sensei, pompous as ever. "I would still like to recommend the debate club –"

"Yamada-sensei, you don't need to worry," she interrupted before he could go into one of his long lectures. "I'll have signed up by the end of the week."

TSUKI

"I still think you should sign up for the tennis club!" repeated Eiji for the dozenth time.

"I didn't close that option," I replied, also for the dozenth time. "Ne, Fuji, let's all eat lunch outside today." Although our project had been completed already, I'd fallen into a habit of staying behind with the boys every day, and ate lunch with them too.

"Sure," he agreed. "I'll go and look for a spot while you two buy the food."

"Sankyu, Fujiko-chan!"

A short while later, we made our way out of doors, laden with an assortment of foodstuffs. "Hmm… I wonder where Fuji's gotten to," I mused aloud.

"Nya, I can't see him either." Stretching to his full height, Eiji craned his neck to search the area.

If I were Fuji, where would I go? I wondered. Somewhere further away from the crowd? Slowly, I walked towards a grove that didn't seem to be occupied as yet.

"Hoi! There he is!" Eiji pointed. Sure enough, Fuji emerged from behind the grove we'd been heading to.

"Mou, Fujiko-chan, you shouldn't play hide and seek!" shouted Eiji, running towards his friend. I followed at a more sedate pace.

Suddenly, someone bumped into me hard, causing the items I'd been holding to fall to the ground.

**A/N: That was just… weird. But review anyway. :D**


	6. Koori Yukimi and the Girls' Tennis Team

Chapter 6: Koori Yukimi and the Girls' Tennis Team 

SAIYA

"Yuki-chan, hurry! I'm sure I saw _him_ over there!" I dragged my cousin along with me.

"I know you love Fuji-kun, but I really rather _not_ be present if you're planning to confess – "

I blushed furiously. "_Yuki-chan_! I'm _not_ going to confess _anything_!"

"In that case, why are you dragging me along?"

"Because _he_ might know where Tsuki-chan is and then I can take you to meet her and I'll have an excuse to talk to _him _too!" I said all in one breath.

She raised her eyebrows. "Judging from the state you're in, I expect that if we _do_ meet him, _I'll_ have to do the talking."

Ignoring her, I ran full speed towards the grove where _he_ was – and slammed hard into the very person I'd been looking for at the start.

"Itai!" Metallic silver eyes bored into mine. "What on earth do you think you're doing, Saiya-chan?"

"Oh… eto.. I wanted you to meet my cousin!" I said lamely.

She raised one eyebrow. "Well then, introduce her."

"Eto… she's Koori Yukimi. Yuki-chan, this is my friend, Hayashi Tsukiko."

"Tsuki, please," added Tsuki-chan.

Yuki-chan nodded. "Then I'm just Yuki."

YUKI

I looked this Hayashi Tsukiko over. Pure, perfectly straight silver hair, uncomfortably piercing grey eyes, gorgeous face and a body that wouldn't have disgraced a top model, albeit she was rather petite to go into the business. I hadn't seen her before, but then, I _had_ been recuperating from a whooping cough on the Hawaiian beaches.

Saiya was currently explaining that to Tsuki-chan. " – so you see, that's why I didn't introduce her before."

"So what class are you in?" She led us off towards a shady tree, walking with easy, fluid, natural grace. I could see how she'd caught the eye of the infamously popular tensai Fuji Syuusuke.

"I'm in class 3-2," I replied.

"Please don't tell me you're one of Fuji's fangirls. Saiya-chan's bad enough."

"Hey!" protested Saiya, blushing hard.

Laughing at her, I replied, "No, I'm not Fuji-kun's fangirl. He always closes his eyes; it's really a bit creepy."

"He's not creepy, once you get to know him," she informed me.

"You know him well?" I asked.

"Maa, ne."

Saiya glanced at her watch and gasped. "Yuki-chan, you're gonna be late for tennis!"

TSUKI

I was surprised. Yukimi was in tennis?

"Ne, Yuki-chan, do you recommend joining the girls' tennis team, or is it a waste of time?" I inquired, injecting laziness into my voice so that I wouldn't sound too eager.

She thought about it. "If you think you're good enough to make the regulars, then I recommend it. We regulars join because we actually want to play tennis. However, I don't deny that the majority of our members are simply fangirls who want to get closer to their idols, a.k.a. the boys' tennis team. Does that answer your question?"

I shrugged and stood. "I think I shall watch your practice."

"Hurry!" pleaded Saiya. "I don't want you to be late for tennis, Yuki-chan."

It turned out that for all Saiya's chivvying, Yukimi was still late, so she was told to run five laps around the courts before going in to train. Once Saiya had declared that she was going over to watch the guys' practice, I settled myself down under a nearby tree and watched the girls practice.

"Amateurs," I thought disdainfully. It was justified – most barely had the correct service form; others giggled every time they missed a ball. Which was often.

Nevertheless, I noticed one particular group of girls who were actually quite good. I smirked as a powerfully built girl smashed a ball hard enough to knock her opponent's racket out of her hand. "Not bad," I commented.

Then something else caught my eye. A tall blonde was supposedly training some younger girls, probably the freshmen. But the way she went about 'training' them was ludicrous.

She would serve the ball at them powerfully, then, as the younger, more timid girl flinched away, she would yell at her. "You're useless! Why join tennis if you can't even hit the ball?" and other such things. As I watched, one of the girls whom I assumed were regulars came over and said something too soft for me to hear. However, the blonde's reply was clear. "Why should I? They should be grateful that I, Sonoko Kiiro, _fukubuchou_ of this team, is personally training them now, since our buchou is late!" The other girl bowed her head in submission and walked away, and Sonoko continued her 'training'.

I was normally slow to anger, but seeing this, I could feel my temper beginning to rise. This was no way to treat those poor girls. Even just by watching, I could see that some of them had real potential. And this arrogant idiot, although undoubtedly skilled – to a certain extent, at least – was scraping at their self-esteem and rubbing what pride they had raw.

I could not just stand by and watch without doing anything. Sonoko Kiiro, I thought. She needed to be taught a lesson. And judging from the way her teammates and kouhais treated her, none of them were going to do so anytime soon.

Well, perhaps I should be the one to teach her. I smiled. It was not a pleasant smile.

YUKI

"So, you're joining our team, ne?" I addressed Tsuki-chan.

She smiled serenely. "Yes. You may thank Sonoko-san for helping me make my decision."

I blinked in surprise. Had I heard correctly? "I'm sorry, but I thought I heard you say _Sonoko_-san helped you decide."

"You heard correct. Her actions were infinitely inspiring. Especially when she was training the freshmen. Would that the world could follow her example." There was no hint of sarcasm in her voice; she was completely in earnest.

I shook my head. "You _can't_ be serious."

"Oh no, I am deadly serious, Yuki-chan. I have already informed Ryuuzaki-sensei of my decision. Apparently, I am just in time for this term's ranking tournament."

"You are. In fact, they start tomorrow morning," I informed her.

"That's good. I can become a regular without delay."

Such confidence! "You think you can become a regular so fast?" I asked, half incredulous.

"I don't _think_ I can, Yuki-chan. I _know_ I can." She looked at me straight in the eye. "Do you doubt my word?"

I didn't. But I didn't say it out loud.

She smiled knowingly, as if she knew what my unspoken answer was. "Ja, I'll see you tomorrow morning – at the ranking tournament. I promise you, it will be interesting." Her smile widened, and I glimpsed white teeth.

I shuddered. "Ja."

**A/N: Hmm… I think the ranking tournaments are supposed to be seasonal for the girls' team… review, ne.**


	7. Ranking Tournament

Chapter 7: The Ranking Tournament 

TSUKIKO

"Are? Tsukiko, why are you taking your tennis things to school?" asked my mother.

I sighed. "Obviously, I need them to play tennis, don't I? I'm sure I told you that I've decided to join the school tennis team. Ja." Slinging the tennis bag over my shoulder, I left the house.

As usual, I met Fuji on the way. The roads leading to our houses met at crossroads on the way to school, so we naturally started meeting up on the way, then picking up Eiji, whose house was on the same road closer to school.

When he saw the tennis bag over my shoulder, her raised one delicate eyebrow. "Are? Tsuki-chan's joined the tennis club?"

I raised my own almost invisible eyebrows right back at him. "Weren't you and Eiji the ones who were always bugging me to do so?"

Naturally, Eiji's reaction was rather more enthusiastic.

"Hoi hoi! You've finally decided to join the tennis club nya? Took you long enough!" He made as if to jump on me, but I gave him a meaningful look and he backed off. "Mou…"

I ruffled his bright red hair. "Sorry, Eiji, but no means no."

At the tennis courts we parted ways, since I needed to go to the girls' courts and they needed to go to the boys'. Yukimi immediately caught hold of me and began the introductions. The names and faces flew past my ears and eyes, too fast to really register, so I simply smiled and nodded at everyone.

Almost before I'd finished being introduced, the fangirls swamped me with questions about Fuji and Eiji. I evaded their queries as best as I could while doing a few simple stretches to loosen my muscles a bit. Even in an easy match, the possibility of cramping muscles was not unreal.

An authoritative shout cut through the chatter. "Right! Everyone gather here now!"

I tapped Yukimi on the shoulder as we obeyed the summons. "Is that the buchou?"

"Yes, that's Tano Hikari, our buchou," replied Yukimi.

I looked the buchou over carefully while she talked. She had dark, burnished auburn hair that formed waves to the bottoms of her shoulder blades. It was caught up in a high ponytail and covered with a white cap. Her sharp sea-green eyes and her statuesque height definitely classified her as pretty.

"Everyone, I am sure that we all know today's the autumn ranking tournament. So as not to waste anymore time, please come and check the board for your schedule, court and opponent," said Tano-buchou. "Oh, and please welcome Hayashi Tsukiko, the newest member of our tennis club."

I stood up and bowed. "Yoroshiku."

"With that, let the ranking tournament begin!"

YUKI

Since I didn't have any matches that morning, I went to watch Tsukiko play. Before she entered the court, I asked who her opponents for the day were.

"Right now I'm against Kiri Himitsu. This afternoon I'm against Sonoko Kiiro." She walked into the court. Court B, as it so happened.

I gaped after her. What was Tano-buchou thinking, putting her up against the two regulars of B block on the very first day of the ranking tournament?

But it wasn't like I could do anything about it. So I sat back and watched the show.

The match against Kiri Himitsu was unremarkable. Himitsu was essentially a doubles player, paired with her twin Kiri Shinjutsu, which meant that she wasn't exceptionally good at singles play. I also had a strong feeling that Tsukiko wasn't playing with half her strength. However, she probably didn't want to win by too large a margin, taking the match at 6-3 instead of 6-0.

I went to meet her when she came out of the court, but somebody got there first. "Struggling with a doubles specialist?" sneered Sonoko.

Tsukiko walked right past her, ignoring the taller girl. Sonoko frowned. "You've got some attitude, _half-blood_. I will crush you in our match this afternoon."

Tsukiko still did not acknowledge her. "Come on, Yuki-chan. Let's go change."

FUJI

Tsuki-chan seemed rather preoccupied that day. I had a feeling it was because of the ranking tournament, but I had seen part of her first match, and she had won with no trouble at all.

Eiji was as bouncy as ever. "Nya! You won your first match and it was against a regular! Isn't that great?"

Tsuki-chan smiled slightly. "Yes, I suppose it is. But one of the other girls, Yuki-chan, told me that she's a doubles specialist, so her singles play isn't so good."

"Tsuki-chan, it's not like you to be so down…" I commented.

She shook her head and changed the subject. Something was definitely up, and I decided to watch her afternoon match.

It was troublesome, of course. You can't just skive training like that. But I had certain _means_ of getting what I wanted.

"Ne, Tezuka, I won't be coming for afternoon practice today."

"Why? I expect a good reason, Fuji."

"Saa ne, maybe because if you don't, I'll show these pictures of you dressed up in this pixie costume when you were four around to some of your fangirls…"

Tezuka's eyebrow twitched. "Very well. But I expect you back tomorrow."

"Thanks, Tezuka." I left. Those photos were so far the best blackmail I had on Tezuka. I couldn't wait to get some dirt on him and Ryoma – he'd probably let me off on laps _and_ stroke practices then.

TSUKI

I had a strong feeling Fuji was going to come and watch. Having been a little 'out of it', so to speak, I had sensed that he knew something was wrong and he wanted to find out what it was.

After all, if he and I had switched places, I'd want to do the same. So when I noticed that Fuji wasn't with the rest of the guys' tennis club that afternoon, I simply shrugged mentally and pretended that nothing was amiss.

"Everybody has come, right?" called Tano-buchou. "Yoshi! Let's start the afternoon matches!"

"Hai!" Everyone made their way to their respective courts. I caught Sonoko's eye. She sent me a smug smirk. Suppressing the strong urge to slap her, I instead gave her my sweetest smile as I walked past her.

I allowed myself a small smirk as I took out my favorite black and silver racket. I had planned the game already. There was no way for her to escape unscathed.

We met at the net for the customary handshake. The umpire for our match was no less than Tano-buchou herself; probably just to keep an eye on Sonoko. Well, she would have the best view of the humiliation of Sonoko Kiiro.

"Hello, little half-blood." She smirked. "You won't stand a chance against me."

Once again I gave her my ultra-sweet smile. "Saa, I had no idea that tennis was decided by the players' lineage." Raising my eyebrows I gave her my most piercing stare before turning my back on her and going to my end of the court to serve.

The beginnings of a smirk played at the corners of my mouth as I bounced the ball. "Sonoko Kiiro, you will regret the day I set eyes on you."

FUJI

"Game to Sonoko, four games to love!"

I frowned slightly. I was sure that Tsuki-chan wasn't playing her best. Oh, she certainly made it _look_ like she was trying her very best. But somehow I just _knew_ that she could do better.

Her form was good, her movements smooth. Her footwork was great. But shots that should have been easy to return were getting past her, and it seemed that her aim was poor. It just seemed _wrong_. I continued watching.

"Out! 40-0! Match point for Sonoko!"

Looking closer, I saw Tsuki-chan smirking as she prepared to serve. "Seems that she's about to start something," I thought.

She served. I opened my eyes. Surely that had not been Sanada's Invisible Serve.

"40-15!"

She served again. This time, the ball disappeared almost the moment it bounced, before reappearing again – behind Sonoko. It was Chitose's famous Kamikakushi.

"40-30!"

Twist Serve.

"Deuce!"

Sengoku's Kohou.

"Advantage Server!"

This serve was something I had never seen before. She tossed the ball up in the position for a right-handed serve, then at the last moment, she switched the racket to her _left_ hand and served.

"Game, Hayashi! One game to five!"

I smiled. The match had become interesting.

In Sonoko's service game, Tsuki-chan's speed and accuracy was almost double of what it had been before. She took the game with return aces.

"Game, Hayashi! Two games to five!"

In this service game, she used all the previous serves but the hand-changing one, taking the game with service aces.

"Game, Hayashi! Three games to five!"

I climbed down the tree. It was obvious who the winner would be.

TSUKI

I treated Sonoko to my favorite serves. Not for her sake, of course, but because I wanted to show off to make Sonoko even more humiliated.

"Damn!" cursed Sonoko.

I gave her an angelic smile. "Perhaps it's time I came to the net?"

Her eyes widened as I made good my words. In an attempt to get the ball past me, she lobbed it, just as I had known she would.

I gathered myself and leapt, flipping once and smashing the ball down with the racket between my legs in the split position, then flipping again to land safely.

"Love fifteen!"

Resting the racket on my shoulder, I smiled at Sonoko's angry face. "That was my Split Smash. Like it?"

She growled, and we walked back to our respective positions. A short time later, the match was over. "Game and match, Hayashi! Seven games to five!"

Once again, we met at the net for the customary handshake. Sonoko was shaking in furious mortification. "You-you dirty _bitch_! You let me get to match point just to humiliate me!" she spat.

"I know," I replied sweetly, leaving the court. Most of the girls edged away from me as I passed them on the way to the clubhouse.

I was not surprised to find Fuji waiting for me when I came back out. "You were watching, weren't you?"

He smiled, as usual. "Mm. You were good."

"Doumo (thanks)."

FUJI

We walked out of the school, heading home. After a moment of silence, I ventured a question. "Did you really mean to crush her so badly?" It just seemed against what I knew of her character.

"Yesterday when I watched them practice, I saw her bullying the freshmen." Meeting my eyes, she said, "I couldn't stand that."

I nodded. "I understand."

She stared at me for a few seconds, then began to laugh, almost hysterically. I watched in confusion. "What?"

'Do you have _any_ idea of how long it's been since I heard _anyone_ say that to me as if they meant it?" she choked.

"Maa ne, it's the same for me."

She wiped away the tears of laughter. "We should say it more often, since both of us are so deprived."

I smiled a genuine smile. "Maybe we should. Say, how did you learn all those serves?"

"The serves? Oh, I saw some videos of them from the national competitions," she explained. "I've always loved learning serves, so I practiced until I got them down properly, and now, they're almost always part of my lineup when I'm playing seriously."

"Oh, I see. Well, this is my road now; ja."

**A/N: Obviously I copied the match between Fuji and Mizuki. Not wholesale, though. I hope it turned out okay. Review!**


	8. To Get What You Want

Chapter 8: To get what you want 

TSUKI

I had been a regular for a week. Winter was beginning to close in, announcing its presence with the sharp chill in the mornings and evenings. Students donned fleece jackets for their morning walks to school and claimed that the increasingly stronger north winds had blown their homework away.

Surrounding temperatures had never affected me much, so I continued just as I always had. Eiji insisted that I couldn't be human, while Fuji maintained that I simply had to have blood of a higher temperature than that of normal people. I laughed at them both and told them that whatever it was, it was a lot less troublesome, as I didn't usually need my jackets and scarves and other warm wear unless we were skiing in Hokkaido in deep winter.

Yukimi and I had become increasingly closer. She wasn't timid like her cousin Saiya, nor was she the loud fangirl type, though she did admit to a certain admiration for Tezuka-buchou. On learning that, I decided not to inform her of Fuji and my plans for obtaining blackmail on him. Even so, her friendship helped me to get used to not using my poker face throughout the day, and I usually didn't wear it around her or Fuji – it wasn't necessary.

I found that the girls' tennis team was actually rather interesting. Excluding me, the members were as the follows: the captain, Tano-buchou; the doubles twins, Kiri Himitsu and Kiri Shinjutsu; the power-player, Sana Shoko (who was the most powerfully built on the team); the Inui-esque information collector Imai Akiya, the compact martial artist Hiyoshi Nimiko (Hyotei's Hiyoshi Wakashi's sister), and last but not least, my friend Koori Yukimi, the new fukubuchou.

(On a side note, Sonoko was so devastated as a result of her overwhelming defeat by yours truly that in her match against Kiri Himitsu the next day she lost in straight sets. And the other matches I had were against non-regulars, so the results were obvious.)

One day, I decided to eat lunch with the twins – for team bonding, or so I told them. In reality, I had an ulterior motive – to find out if they crushed on my friends.

"Saa, Shinjutsu, do you or your sister like my boys?" I asked idly.

"Your boys?" repeated Shinjutsu. "Who? You have a _lot_, Tsuki-sempai."

I blinked. "Do I? Well, it's not like they matter. I meant Fuji and Eiji. Do you two like them?"

"Not really," said Himitsu. "Even if we did, their fangirls would probably either force us to join or make sure we stop liking them."

"The fangirls here seem to suffer from some kind of obsessive compulsive disorder," I said sympathetically, having experienced their fury firsthand.

(Flashback)

"You – Hayashi Tsukiko – who do you think you are, sucking up to Fuji-sama like that?" demanded a very demure looking girl. Looks can be deceiving.

"I'm his friend," I replied composedly. "I'm allowed to have friends, aren't I?"

"Not if they're Fuji-sama," hissed one of the other girls. "Fuji-sama is different."

"Why?" I asked, curious to hear their reasons.

"Because he's _Fuji-sama_!!"

(End Flashback)

At the memory, I felt my lips curl in an amused grin.

Shinjutsu's voice broke through my thoughts. "Since we are talking about things like that, Tsuki-sempai, is there anything going on between you and Fuji-sempai?"

Himitsu perked up. "You two seem very close – like you always walk to school and walk home together… and you even act a bit like him…" Both twins stared at me in anticipation.

Startled, I blinked at them for a few seconds before I registered what they had said. Then I smiled innocently. "Fuji and me? We're just friends. You two are reading too deep. It's not like I'm hanging on to his every word and staring at him with puppy eyes."

They looked rather disappointed, but still persisted. "Maybe _he_ likes you, Tsuki-sempai. You're really pretty. Remember that time when he skipped practice to come and watch your match against Sonoko-sempai?"

I shrugged. "It wasn't unexpected."

"Then – "

" Hoi hoi! Tsuki-chan! Where are you?" The unmistakable voice of Eiji interrupted them.

Immediately, both of them jerked, flushed and took their leave. "Shitsureshimasu (excuse us)!" they cried.

EIJI

I found Tsuki-chan under a tree, which was as usual, and alone, which was unusual. I could see two identical figures a distance away heading towards the school building, and I dismissed them as unimportant.

"Nya, Tsuki-chan, Fujiko-chan's looking for you. Something about 'the plan'," I told her.

She gave me a brilliant smile. "Sankyu, Eiji." Standing with her usual easy grace, she took her leave of me.

I watched as she walked away. "The plan," I mused. The two of them seemed to be getting really close. I was starting to feel slightly left out.

FUJI

Sensing Tsuki-chan's approach, I turned, putting a finger to my lips to make sure she stayed silent. It was rather unnecessary, since she was already keeping as quiet as possible, but better safe than sorry.

She gave me a look that read, "You caught them?"

I smirked and nodded, indicating that she look round the corner.

Obeying, her eyes flew wide and she pressed a hand to her mouth, attempting to muffle a choke. My smirk grew wider.

Time to get what we wanted.

TEZUKA

Ryoma, I noticed this first time, doesn't close his eyes the way he is supposed to -- particularly since the kiss doesn't come as a surprise or anything. I wanted to watch those eyelids flutter shut before he follows suit -- maybe because it is a strange admittance of submission. Maybe just because it's the way things are done. Maybe -- something else.

But Ryoma never closes his eyes. I grip lightly at the freshman's hips and can only stare back, partially mesmerized and partially perplexed and partially frustrated. In return, Ryoma smirks into the kiss before breaking away, picking up his racket again, and sauntering out of the clubroom.

It takes me a moment to register what just happened.

I have had to get used to it after that. Granted, it is still a little weird, but I have learned the true benefit of emulating that strange little habit of Ryoma's. I have, over the course of several weeks and many, many stolen kisses, become skilled at reading that mysterious golden-gray-amber of Ryoma's eyes. I can usually judge when Ryoma is hungry for deep kisses; when he wants light brushes of lips against lips just tantalizing enough to keep him needing more; when he will be happy with just normal, quick kisses on the run; when he is sleepy-drowsy-lazy and just wants sleepy-drowsy-lazy kisses before we go to our respective homes.

I have become able to read what Ryoma likes on any given day, when he needs room to breathe, why he needs _this_ kiss right _now_. I can see when Ryoma is sulking but trying to hide it, when he is having an absolutely horrible day, when he is going to be particularly obstinate at practice (which is terribly useful, in my opinion).

It is, however, an unfortunately double-edged sword, because either Ryoma is getting pretty damn spectacular at kissing or he's figured out how to read me, too. Which sucks, because I hate it when I am less-than-opaque; having one perceptive player around is trouble enough, when the player is Fuji.

I think that if I ever have to endure another practice with _both_ of my star players up my back about being grouchier than usual (though it is Ryoma's fault and he knows it), I will quit the club, pack my bags, and become a Buddhist monk in the middle of some nowhereland where neither of them will find me. Or else I'll assign them 200 laps _each_.

(On a side note, I can still remember that time when Fuji and Ryoma decided to do 50 laps each and call it 100 total. I'd told them to go ahead and split another 100 laps between them. In return, I got two nearly identical pouts, one _Mada mada dane_, and a _That's too mean, Tezuka_. I'd ignored them both, but Ryuuzaki-sensei had had fits of laughter. I did not appreciate it.)

I hear Ryoma's low laugh below my ear right before I feel the press of lips against the side of my neck. I hitch up my shoulder again, wearily, because it makes shivers go down my spine whenever Ryoma does that.

Ryoma laughs again and shifts again, though this is to press his mouth against mine in another one of those good kisses -- hard and tired at the same time, a none-too-gentle tug-of-war for control.

I was just getting into it when I felt the politely patient presence not too far away. Then multiple flashes of light burn through my eyelids.

FUJI

Tsuki-chan and I gave the pair whom we had caught in the act our biggest, most angelically innocent smiles that should have let us get away with murder. Unfortunately, Tezuka wasn't the type who'd get fooled.

"Fuji. Hayashi. Hand over those cameras _now_." He was giving me his patented 'obey or run a thousand laps around the school' glare.

I continued smiling. "And if we don't?"

"If you don't you can do laps till morning practice tomorrow."

I sighed and handed over the cameras, shoulders slumped as if in defeat. "Fine." However, behind my back I signaled to Tsuki-chan. '_Run_'.

She ran, so fast and so silently that it was a few seconds before Tezuka noticed her absence.

"Wait. Why did Hayashi-sempai run?" asked Echizen, sounding a little worried. He had every reason to, though he didn't know half of them at that moment.

Still exerting the full power of my kilowatt smile on them, I said, "Tsuki-chan's probably just scared that you might make her do laps too, Tezuka."

He shook his head. "She should know that I couldn't, since I'm not her buchou. You may go now, Fuji."

I went, keeping a serene smile on my face while inwardly laughing like a maniac. Unbeknownst to the pair, Tsuki-chan had run off with the memory cards. All Tezuka held were two empty cameras.

**A/N: I credit the fic 'ShockBangKiss' (if the title hasn't changed) for the Tezuka's POV. But I can't remember the author… sorry… review please**


	9. Mixed Doubles

Chapter 9: Mixed Doubles?! 

FUJI

"Tsuki-chan, we need hand-signals."

"Why?"

"I need to know what kind of serve you are doing so that I can react properly."

"So why won't you let me signal for your triple counters?"

"I know when they should be used, Tsuki-chan."

"Yes, but I need to know what kind of counter you are doing so that I can react properly."

"You just repeated what I said word for word."

"I know. Anyway, if I obey your signals for serves, then you must obey mine for the counters. Deal?"

I sighed. Why had the coaches _have_ to choose mixed doubles for the exhibition matches against Hyotei?

(Flashback)

"All regulars gather here! Both boy's and girls' teams, _now_!" roared Ryuuzaki-sensei. We scrambled to obey.

Once everyone was assembled, Ryuuzaki-sensei announced, "We are going to be holding exhibition matches against Hyotei next week. To showcase as large a variety of our students in the shortest time span – this being the last outdoor matches held before winter – Sakaki-sensei and I have agreed on mixed doubles."

"_WHAT_?!"

"Yes, you heard it, mixed doubles. We will be playing five matches against them, and I expect you to win within three matches."

- collective (but muffled) groans -

"Now, the teams are as the follows: Doubles 5, Momoshiro-Sana. Doubles 4, Oishi-Hiyoshi. Doubles 3, Kikumaru-Kiri Himitsu. Doubles 2, Fuji-Hayashi. And last but not least, our buchou-tachi will team up in Doubles 1. If either teams wins before Doubles 2 or Doubles 1, those pairs will not play. That's all; you may leave."

(End Flashback)

And that was how Tsuki-chan and I had ended up bickering over the use of hand signals.

"Right, it's a deal. But if you don't signal anything and I feel that I should use one of my counters, you can't stop me."

"That's no deal." She looked at me with Eiji's kitty cat face.

I threw up my hands in defeat. "Fine, be that way."

Her face lit up in a smile. "Great! Now, we should try for some practice…"

"Street tennis?" I suggested. "The facilities are okay, and some of the other schools' players will be there, so there'll be some opponents."

"I'm game."

TSUKI

It being the first time I had been to the street tennis courts, I wasn't too sure what to expect. I soon found that the courts were large and spacious, although not exactly the most well kept. Fuji had also been right when he said that other schools' players would be there – one redhead whose fringe covered half his face and a blunette person were playing doubles against a spiky blonde and his long-haired friend.

"Ah, Fudomine," observed Fuji. "And judging by the uniform, that's Gyokurin."

I didn't really know either school, so I stayed silent. As we entered the courts, a girl's voice called out, "Fuji-san!"

I looked around for the owner of the voice and saw a younger girl with orangey-brown hair clipped back away from her face. She was wearing rather impractical clothes – a short skirt and a cropped shrug over her blouse. It was almost winter, and this was a _tennis court_. Was she supposed to meet someone on a assignation or something of that sort? Because that was how she was dressed.

"Konnichiwa, An-chan," greeted Fuji.

An glanced at me and I saw a pout flicker across her face, quickly replaced by a falsely sweet smile. "Fuji-san, who's this? Your girlfriend?"

I gave her my most innocent smile. "What if I am?"

She glared at me. I suppressed the urge to laugh; it was so blindingly obvious that she liked Fuji.

Fuji, however, wasn't paying us attention. "Kamio-san! What's the game count?"

The redhead called back, "5-1, thirty love!"

"I'd like the next match, if that's okay with you."

"Sure."

I nudged Fuji. "Who're they? And who's she?"

"The redhead's Kamio Akira; his partner's Ibu Shinji. They're both sophomore regulars from Fudomine. An-chan, or Tachibana An, is their buchou's little sister, also a sophomore. Their opponents are from Gyokurin, but I'm not sure of their names."

"Oh."

The game ended fairly quickly. "Game and match, Kamio-Ibu pair!"

"Damn, we lost again," said one of the Gyokurin pair good-naturedly.

"Yeah, but at least now you can take some points from us," pointed out Kamio. "Oi, Fuji-san, we'll play you in a few."

"Sure," said Fuji, smiling as usual. He looked at me. "Let's warm up, shall we?"

AN

I hated to admit it, but that girl who was playing with Fuji-san against Kamio-kun and Ibu-kun was good. Although it was two guys against one guy and one girl (even if the guy was Fuji-san), she and Fuji-san crushed Kamio-kun and Ibu-kun.

They were in such perfect sync… it was as if they'd played together forever, as if they knew exactly what the other was doing. They even used sign play.

"Game and match, Hayashi-Fuji pair! Six games to three!"

"Kampai da (totally beaten)," grumbled Kamio-kun. "Even though I set my rhythm to the highest."

"I even tried the Spot," added Ibu-kun. "But you just _had_ to be like Echizen; nitouryuu players, both him and you. So irritating."

Both she and Fuji-san smiled. "No problem. We were just testing out some techniques for our school's exhibition match against Hyotei."

"Doesn't that just mean you used us as guinea pigs?!"

"Maa, ne."

"Ne, Fuji, we ought to get going. It's almost time for dinner."

"Mm. Want to have dinner at my house? It's closer, and nee-chan would be delighted. Oh, Yuuta's coming home too; he might be in time for dinner."

"I'm coming."

I was quite shocked. Fuji-san had invited that girl over for dinner?! Maybe I _had _been right and they really were an item.

TSUKI

Fuji and I worked on our game as often as possible, training at the street tennis courts against various schools' players. After all, we didn't know who our opponents would be, so we deemed it best to try out our techniques against as many people as possible, provided they weren't from Seigaku, Hyotei or anyone who had a data fetish – meaning Mizuki in particular.

We weren't skiving practice, of course. Ryuuzaki-sensei said that we didn't have to attend every single practice, since we had already informed her that we would prefer to work on our game outside of school. She apparently trusted us enough to agree to our request.

She had had a strange gleam in her eye when she agreed. Perhaps she thought we wanted privacy for romantic reasons. In fact, almost everybody thought so.

"Tsuki-sempai, when you don't come for practice, are you – ehhh – dating someone?" O.O

"Momo, don't tell me you have a crush on me. You really should think more of your own doubles partner." n.n

"… Tsuki-sempai, you are as evil as Fuji-sempai…"

"Yo, Tsuki-sempai. You're not coming for practice anymore." 

"You could say that we rather practice without Inui around to take our data." . 

"… Mada mada dane." -.-

You see my point. But really, Momo _should_ have been thinking more of his own doubles partner; and we _didn't _want Inui to take our data.

FUJI

"Game and match, Hayashi-Fuji pair, six games to love. Next pair, please enter the court."

"Sorry about that," I told the Gyokurin pair.

"Game and match, Hayashi-Fuji pair, six games to love. Next pair, please enter the court."

"They completely trashed us," complained a pair of high school boys.

"Game and match, Hayashi-Fuji pair, six games to love. Next pair, please enter the court."

"Too bad, Ann-chan," said Kamio. "We tried."

A few games later, Tsuki-chan and I retired from the courts, grinning. "I think it's going to work," she commented.

"Mm. Tomorrow we're playing Hyotei, ne?"

"I'm looking forward to it."

'Me too."

**A/N: Yeah well I know mixed doubles is really an old and overused idea… but that was all I could think of. Remember that this is my first fic? T.T ah wells… review anyway!**


	10. Exhibition Match

Chapter 10: Exhibition Match 

TSUKI

"Ah, Hyotei's arrived," remarked Fuji.

I looked up at the troop of boys and girls dressed in the grey and white of Hyotei's tennis uniform. "They look ready."

"So are we," he reminded me.

"True."

After all the formalities, the matches finally began. "Doubles 5, Seigaku's Momoshiro-Sana pair against Hyotei's Hiyoshi-Riko pair!"

I poked Fuji. "Any idea of how the match will turn out?"

He shook his head. "Momo and Sana are power-players. Hiyoshi has the same play style as his sister; they use Enbu-tennis. However, Riko is someone we don't know."

It was a tough match on both sides. Sana could sort of cope with Hiyoshi's Enbu-tennis since she had had practice matches with Nimiko, while Riko was speedy and when she could return a shot properly the Seigaku pair usually couldn't catch up. Her obvSaiyaus problem was, of course, actually being _able_ to return the ball properly.

"Game and match, Seigaku's Momoshiro-Sana pair, seven games to five."

We congratulated the pair. "Good work, both of you. Now we have the first win."

Momo laughed tiredly. "They were good, though." He walked off to refill his water bottle.

"Time for the sister now," I remarked.

"Doubles 4, Seigaku's Oishi-Hiyoshi pair against Hyotei's Ootori-Chiriko pair!"

Oishi and Nimiko were a good pair, with her doing the attacks near the front while he stayed at the back to do defense. Chiriko, however, seemed to be watching Ootori more than the ball. Even with Ootori's Scud Serve, the results were clear.

"Game and match, Seigaku's Oishi-Hiyoshi pair, seven games to six."

"Yay! We won two games already! And now it's my turn, so we're going to win again!" Eiji bounced around excitedly.

"Eiji, calm down." Fuji's eyes were open. "You need to be serious for this match. Your opponent is Jirou."

I thought I had heard the name before. "Which one is he?"

"The sleepy-looking guy with orange hair," he replied.

"Oh! He's the serve and volley specialist, right? I've heard of him."

Fuji nodded. "I've played him before. Without my Hakugei, I might have lost."

I shrugged. "It's Eiji he's playing. Both of them are serve and volley specialists."

He smiled, closing his eyes. "True. This could be interesting."

"Doubles 3, Seigaku's Kikumaru-Kiri pair against Hyotei's Akutagawa-Aizu pair!"

It was a thrilling match between the two serve and volley specialists and their backups. In the end, sadly, when they reached tiebreak, Himitsu collapsed.

"Seigaku forfeits Doubles 3! Hyotei wins!"

"Fuji, its our turn," I said quietly.

His smile grew. "I know. Let's heat things up, shall we?"

EIJI

I was so upset that we had lost. But I knew it wasn't really Himitsu-chan's fault.

"Nya, Fujiko-chan, Tsuki-chan, you _must_ win for me!" I told them.

"Don't worry, Eiji. We won't lose."

Seeing the identically sadistic smiles on their faces, I believed them. That is, until I saw who their opponents were.

"Doubles 2, Seigaku's Fuji-Hayashi pair against Hyotei's Kabaji-Shiro pair!"

"Nooo! Fujiko-chan and Tsuki-chan against Hyotei's Kaba-chan and female Kaba-chan! This is bad bad bad!" I shouted.

"Calm down, Eiji," said Oishi, but I could see that he looked worried too.

"I won't! Oishi, can't you see that they're _dwarfed_ by those two?!"

"It looks bad," he agreed, looking worried. "They're both so delicately structured… returning the Hyotei pair's shots might break their wrists. Ryuuzaki-sensei, do you think that this is a good idea?"

"Oishi, do you trust those two tensais?" asked Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"No!" I said.

"You should, Kikumaru. They are not called tensais for nothing. I am sure they will handle these two. They'll find a way – somehow."

TSUKI

"Fuji, do we change tactics?" I hissed.

"No. We can't. Just do like we did in all those practices at the street tennis courts. And start off with a normal serve. We ought to see what the girl can do."

"Got it." Bouncing the ball a few times, I prepared to serve.

EIJI

They lost the first game. It was inevitable. Almost all the balls blew the rackets out of their hands.

"I don't want to watch…" I moaned. "They're gonna looooooooseeeee…"

FUJI

"Game, Kabaji-Shiro pair! One game to love! Change court!"

We crossed over to the other court. I poked Tsuki-chan. "Ne, Tsuki-chan, maybe we should try Plan B."

She blinked at me. "Plan B? Did we even _have_ a Plan B?"

"Remember how to dance?" I asked, staring at her meaningfully.

She stared back at me for a few seconds, then she understood what I was trying to say. "You mean like that other match against Ishida and his partner…?"

"Yes."

ATOBE

This could not be happening. I was shocked.

Fuji Syuusuke and his partner were _dancing_. Yes, dancing. It looked rather like a Chinese dance, what with the way they swirled their rackets around when returning the ball. Dancing while playing tennis. Who would ever have thought?

And the problem was, their very odd method was working. It's the same concept as Fuji's Higuma Otoshi, I realized. The circular motion absorbed the power of Kabaji and Shiro's balls and also made the return unpredictable, as they could release it at any point of the roundhouse swing. It could be a lob, a cross, a straight, or even a smash, depending on how they moved their bodies and rackets.

I was not just shocked; I was amazed… And a bit ticked off too. "Dance, Kabaji," I muttered.

He tried. At least, I'm quite sure he did. But no matter how he tried, there was no way he could predict or imitate those graceful movements. Even copying Kikumaru Eiji's acrobatics was easier than dancing. After all, although agility was a must in tennis, flexibility was not usually considered as such. And these two were almost as flexible as gymnasts, ballet dancers or figure skaters.

Shiro, looking very angry at the extremely strange way her opponents were moving, aimed a powerful shot straight at Hayashi, who was right in front at the net. I expected her to be knocked backwards, since she had no time to position herself properly or to get out of the way.

On the contrary, though, she bent over backwards and let the ball go straight over her. Behind her, Fuji caught up to it and, using that ridiculous dance-like movement, returned it with a passing shot to the left corner behind Shiro, who got even more pissed off.

"Game, Hayashi-Fuji pair! One game all! Change court!"

Ore-sama frowned. Things were not supposed to be turning out this way.

EIJI

"What on earth…" I stared at my two friends on the court. This was the strangest tennis match I had ever seen.

I mean, tennis is tennis and dance is dance. Nobody _ever_ combined them successfully before, not as far as I knew. And yet that pair was doing just that.

"Hmm… Ii data…" mumbled Inui, scribbling away at a frantic pace in his trademark army green notebook.

"Inui, do you have any idea of what is going on?" asked Oishi.

"It is the same concept as Fuji's Higuma Otoshi, but does not require that the ball being countered be a smash. They use the concept of centripetal force to diffuse the power of Hyotei's balls, and as a bonus, their returns are more unpredictable, due to the fact that they can release the ball at any point in their swing as well as contorting their bodies to aim at a completely unexpected spot." Inui adjusted his glasses. "This is only possible because of their remarkable speed, timing, flexibility and teamwork. There is also a 30 chance that they are in the state of 'Syncro', which might explain all these amazing qualities."

It took a while for us to digest this information. "But Inui, we've never seen either of them doing this before. If he had had such a technique, why didn't Fuji use it against Tezuka or Kawamura in our practice matches and ranking tournaments?" inquired Oishi.

"It is a 90 possibility that this was Hayashi's own technique against power players and that she taught it to Fuji during their private practices away from school."

"… I see…"

"In any case, this will result in very good data. It is a very interesting technique; not only does it provide them with a means of returning power shots, it has a secondary purpose of distracting the opponents…" He continued scribbling.

"Mada mada dane, Inui-sempai," commented Ochibi, tugging at his cap.

Inui ignored our kouhai. "Of course, since they are facing Kabaji, there is a 100 chance that he will attempt to copy them… However, his chances of being able to pull off the copy successfully are a mere 10, taking into consideratSaiyan his bigger body mass and larger structure and as compared to that of Fuji and Hayashi. So, it would seem that we have an advantage in this game."

"Nya! You should have said so before! I was so worried!" I slung an arm over Ochibi to watch the rest of the game hanging off him.

"…Mada mada dane, Eiji-sempai."

FUJI

I watched in amusement as the large-bodied Kabaji tried to copy our moves.

"Out! 30-love!"

Tsuki-chan's volley streaked past Shiro's outstretched racket.

"40-love!"

Once again, Kabaji attempted our smooth, circular swing. It soared over our heads and hit the fence.

"Game, Fuji-Hayashi pair! Two games to one! Change court!"

"It's going well," I commented.

She smirked. "Sure is."

TSUKI

"Game and match, Seigaku's Fuji-Hayashi pair! Six games to two!"

Fuji and I exchanged high-fives. "Those practices were definitely worth it."

"Mm, but we didn't get to show them our Plan A."

"Ah well, that couldn't be helped. Kabaji would have copied all your serves. He just couldn't copy our dance, though, because he's too big."

"I see."

The moment we exited the court, Eiji jumped onto us. I didn't have the heart to beat him up just then.

"Nya! You _won_ against Kaba-chan! We were all so worried when we saw him!"

"Ii data," commented Inui. "I would never have thought of using your speed and flexibility in such a manner."

"That was great! Great, I say!" shouted Momo. "You two should go and compete in a dance competition or something!"

"Fshhh… this is _tennis_, you baka…"

"What did you say, mamushi?"

"You wanna fight?"

"What if I do?"

"Fshhhh… baka peach…"

"Momo! Kaidoh! Calm down!" said Oishi.

"Not bad, sempai-tachi," remarked Echizen.

"Want to have a party at my dad's sushi place again? After all, we did win, even though it was an exhibition match," said Taka-san.

Tezuka just nodded at us. I wondered what he would say if he found out that we had just collected the blackmail pictures from the photo-developing place.

It seemed that Fuji was thinking the same thing. We shared an identical sadistic grin.

**A/N: Uhm… (shuffles) I was trying to think of something that Kabaji CAN'T copy. If it didn't make sense, review to kill me. :S**


	11. Winter Holidays in Hokkaido with Hyotei?

Chapter 11: Winter Holidays in Hokkaido… with Hyotei? 

FUJI

"Hey everybody, we should do something for winter break," said Yukimi. We were in the clubhouse after the first tennis practice after the pre-break tests. Needless to say, the practice had been held _indoors_. How could anyone play tennis in 5 degree surrounding temperatures?

Tsuki-chan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean when you say 'do something'?"

"Well, Keigo-chan was saying that he's taking Hyotei to –"

"_Keigo-chan_?!" yelled the whole clubhouse.

"Mm, Atobe Keigo is my cousin."

"Yuki-chan, I swear…"

Yukimi smiled brightly. "Anyway, as I was saying, Keigo-chan – "everyone flinched "– Keigo-chan said he's going to take the Hyotei team to his Hokkaido ski mansion. I was thinking maybe we should do something along those lines."

"… which means you want to take our team up to Hokkaido for skiing…?"

"Yes! Don't you think it'll be fun?"

Almost everybody sweatdropped. "Yuki-chan, you are only this hyper when we've just finished our exams…"

"Well, it's good to let down your guard once in a while!" she protested.

Momo sniggered. "Tezuka-buchou won't agree with you on that one…"

I joined in the collective laughter – both our captains were meeting with Ryuuzaki-sensei and we were safe from having to run laps as punishment for disrespect.

"Anyway, Yuki-chan, do your plans include the boys as well, or are they just for us girls?" I asked when we had quieted down.

Eiji immediately put on his most adorable kitty cat face. "It _does_ include us, ne Yuki-chan?"

Yukimi laughed. "Of course! I wouldn't dream of leaving anyone out!"

"Yuki-chan, does your mansion and Atobe's happen to share the same ski slope?" inquired Tsuki-chan

"Now that you mention it, it does. Is that a big problem?" Yukimi asked worriedly.

"No problem, Yuki-chan. So when will it be?" asked Oishi.

Yukimi smiled happily. "I was thinking probably we can all go after the last practice on the last day of term. Atobe's private jet has already been scheduled for the flight, and we could join them to save the hassle of having to arrange another flight. Plus he's arranged for the limousine to pick them up upon arrival in Hokkaido!"

"Are you sure there would be space? We don't want to intrude…" said Oishi, ever the worry-wart.

She waved it off. "Atobe can use a bigger jet. His jets are all different sizes, depending on whether he wants to show off or not."

"Which in other words means all his jets are huge, since he never stops showing off," commented Nimiko, straight-faced.

Once again everyone laughed, including Yukimi. "Yes, that totally describes Keigo-chan. So are we going?"

"YES!" was the overwhelming response.

"Yoshi! We're going to stay there for the whole two weeks of break, so remember to pack your homework!"

And that was how we came to be at the airport with the Hyotei regulars, waiting to board Atobe's plane to Hokkaido.

TSUKI

I nudged Fuji. "Sit with you on the plane?"

He smiled. "Only if you let me have the window seat."

I glanced at his camera. "Plan to take pictures of Tokyo from the plane, ne? Fine with me. But first, introductSaiyans. I don't know those who didn't play in the exhibitSaiyan matches."

"Sure; I can't say no to a lady, can I?"

"You don't have a choice, you know."

YUUSHI

"Hello, Oshitari-san. This is Tsuki-chan," said Seigaku's tensai.

I raised one eyebrow. "Ah, the dancers who trashed Kabaji?"

Fuji's smile grew just a bit wider. "Mm."

The girl bowed. "It's Tsuki, please."

Seeing her up close, I couldn't help noticing that she was really pretty. She was rather petite, slightly shorter than Fuji and barely reaching my shoulder. Unlike most girls, she didn't flutter and blush on sight of me – which was probably because she could stand what seemed to be the continued company of Fuji. She was different, and that was intriguing.

'If so, then it should be Yuushi for me," I purred, bowing in return

"Very well then, Yuushi-kun." She smiled at me before poking Fuji. "Ne, Fuji, who next?"

"Saa… let's go see if Jirou is awake…"

My eyes traced her graceful movements as she walked away. This holiday, it seemed, would be interesting. _Very_ interesting.

EIJI

"Hoi! Look, Fujiko-chan and Tsuki-chan are sitting together at the window seats! So romantic nya!" I said to Momo and Oishi.

"Eiji! You're talking too loudly! They can hear you!" scolded Oishi.

"Ah, seishun dana, seishun," said Momo happily.

"Momo-sempai, you do realize that Fuji-sempai and Tsuki-sempai are older than you, don't you…" Ochibi pointed out.

Yuki-chan popped up from behind us (we were all sitting at the center block). "What's going on? Tell me, tell me!"

"Quiet! Some of us are trying to sleep here you know!" shouted Shishido from the opposite window seats.

"Shishido-sempai, calm down!" said Choutarou.

Oshitari pushed up his glasses. "Fuji and Hayashi sitting together ya… they sound like a couple…"

"That's what I was trying to say!" I complained. "Nobody's listening to me!"

At that moment I felt a pair of very piercing stares burning through my back. "Unya?"

"Eiji, I suggest you keep quiet for now… Fuji and Tsuki-chan don't look exactly happy…" cautioned Oishi.

Yukimi giggled. "They are so in denial… they _must_ like each other..."

FUJI

"Want to put something slimy down Eiji's back once he's asleep?" asked Tsuki-chan.

"Nice, but no… something more creative would be more fun…" I replied.

"Such as what?"

"Saa, maybe giving his fangirls a picture of him hugging Oishi?" We both smirked at the idea.

"Ai, maybe we shouldn't do that… he'll just stare at me with those kitty cat eyes and make me feel seriously guilty…" she said, after a moment's contemplation.

"True…"

"Shall we just stick with putting something slimy down his back?"

"What slimy thing do we have immediately at hand?"

"Okay, so maybe it's not such a good idea… wait, does anyone have chewing gum or bubble gum? We could put it in his hair."

"That's a good idea. I'm pretty sure Jirou will have some, since Marui Bunta is his idol. Shall I go and get it?" I made as if to get up.

'No way! Jirou will get all hyped-up the moment he sees you, and a hyper Jirou confined on a plane is _not_ a good idea (When I was introducing her to Jirou, the said boy woke up on seeing me and, as we all know, an awake Jirou is a hyper Jirou). I'll go." She slid out of the seat and headed over to where Hyotei was sitting.

TSUKI

"Ah, Tsuki-chan. To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?" drawled a familiar Kansai-ben voice.

"Hello, Yuushi-kun. I just wanted to see if I could get some bubble gum from Jirou-kun."

"Well, I am sorry to say that Jirou is currently asleep. But he should wake up when the plane takes off, which is in a few minutes. Want to stay here till then?" he offered, his voice silky and almost seductive.

I shrugged casually. "Okay by me. Fuji can survive without me for a while." I said, sitting down on the conveniently empty seat next to the blunette.

"While you wait, do you want to hear a bit about Hyotei? As in, from a Hyotei's point of view. I am sure Seigaku's opinion of us is not the best," he purred softly, as if letting me in on a secret.

"Okay, but first, can I ask you something?"

"You just did," he said, smirking.

I pouted at him. "Mou…"

"Okay, okay, I can't say no to a fair lady after all," he teased.

I grinned. "Good! Tell me why you wear spectacles – not just _any_ spectacles but _round_ spectacles – when you don't need them."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "How did you know I don't need them?"

"Hey, didn't your mother ever tell you to leave a girl some secrets?" I asked playfully, knowing that I was acting flirtatious and not really caring. Sometimes one could have some fun.

He chuckled. "You're tricky. I like that."

Fanning myself with my hands I said, "Spare my blushes."

The redhead sitting behind Yuushi popped up. "Hey, Yuushi, if you flirt with her, Fuji's gonna get mad."

I glared at him. "Fuji and I are _not_ an item. And it's none of your business anyway."

Yuushi looked pretty upset too. "Don't poke into other people's business, Gakuto."

"Che. Be that way." Gakuto disappeared behind the seat again.

At that moment, the plane lurched forward and began to taxi down the lane.

FUJI

"Hmm… Tsuki-chan's taking quite a long time to get that gum…" I mused, standing up to see where she had gotten.

Her bright silver hair was too easy to spot. She was sitting next to the blue-haired Oshitari, apparently having an animated conversation.

Hmm. Just like that Oshitari. He was already eyeing my friend. I hoped Tsuki-chan would recognized him what he was – a womanizer, a playboy.

**A/N: Heh. Someone said that it didn't sound like a FujiXOC, but I think this part's pretty mushy. ******

**To my beloved reviewers, I'm sorry I didn't reply. &&$ email decided to label FF net as spam… I was freaking out because I thought nobody reviewed… :-X**

Kiyoshi Kozue: I'm going to be updating in bursts of like five chapters each because I already wrote the entire fic but just can't upload them all at once or I wouldn't get so many reviews. XD

DarkShadowMuffin:-X I'm sorry to stop there… it wasn't really intentional. I just meant to get ten chapters up.

Jezuka: I'm a nerd too. Don't worry. Erm… one swing should be enough, ne? I didn't really consider. And I don't play tennis. O.o

Khyhara: Please, you're boosting my ego a bit too much for my own good. T.T not that I don't like compliments though. XD

Kid9535: I love the thing about the knife. –picks up knife and gives it back to Kid- when was I the fukubuchou of fangirls? Wasn't I the buchou? XD

**Do continue reviewing!! XD**


	12. A Plane Ride

Chapter 12: A Plane Ride 

TSUKI

"Mission accomplished." Fuji and I exchanged a muted high-five.

I had obtained the bubblegum from Jirou without much trouble once he was awake (he had woken up when the plane took off and the air pressure began to fluctuate). As the flight was to be almost three hours long and we were due to land at midnight with another hour-long drive to our respective mansions, almost everybody had tried to sleep once the plane had stabilized. Eiji had dropped off soon after Momo, and Oishi followed suit almost immediately, so Fuji and I had carefully worked the half-chewed gum into the ends of Eiji's prized red hair (any closer to the roots might have woken him up). Then, chuckling softly, we had retired to our seats.

We were pretty sure that Eiji would only wake up when the plane began to descend, which meant we could get some sleep ourselves before he realized what we had done to him and woke the entire plane with his screams. Fuji, satisfied with the pictures he had taken while I was getting the bubblegum, was already lowering the back of the seat so as to recline more comfortably. I followed suit.

Just as I was lying down, I realized how… suggestive this would look to other people. I was literally going to sleep with him. Even though the seats were much wider than a normal airplane's, this being Atobe's private jet, I couldn't help but notice that he was no more than an arm's length away from me; if I just reached out, I would be able to touch him.

As if he knew what I was thinking, he turned over to face me. "You know, maybe the others actually have a right to think the way they did," he commented in a low voice, so as to not wake anyone else up.

Noticing something, I suddenly felt the irrepressible urge to laugh. "Fuji… why is it when you're awake, you close your eyes, but when you want to sleep, you open them?"

The sliver of blue I had glimpsed expanded as he fully opened the originally half-closed eyes. Perhaps it was the proximity; perhaps it was the fact that it was late and my mind wasn't working as well as it could. But those brilliant cerulean eyes drew me in, inexorably, relentlessly.

I was drowning in their beautiful depths; I was mesmerized, hypnotized. A distant part of my mind wondered how he could possess such beauty and yet cover it up at all times, wondered at this amazing power he held but so rarely exerted. As endless as the summer skies, as magnificent and as wildly gorgeous, I couldn't break free.

Suddenly, his eyes closed in the smile I knew so well. Just as well, too – I'd forgotten to breathe. "You don't seem very sleepy anymore, Tsuki-chan."

"I am," I replied. Turning away from him, I let my hair cover my face. Why was I feeling so weird at the mere sight of his eyes? Though admittedly they were nice… which was exactly why the fangirls chased him.

I was no fangirl. I was just his friend. Nothing more, nothing less. No matter what the others thought.

Before I knew it, I had dropped into the deep well of sleep.

FUJI

The fluctuation of the air pressure woke us all up. There were loud grumbles from Momo, Echizen, Shishido, Mukahi, and most of the girls. Even Jirou had woken up again.

"We are descending," announced the chief flight stewardess. "Please return your seats to the upright position and stow all hand–"

"EEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" yelled someone, effectively drowning out the rest of the announcement.

"What happened?"

'What's wrong with Eiji-sempai?"

"WHAT THE HELL??!!"

I smiled contentedly. It seemed that Eiji had discovered the bubblegum.

"NYAAAAAA!! Some _evil_ person put bubblegum in my hair!! My precious hair is ruined!!!"

"Eiji, calm down! I'm sure there is a reason behind this!"

"But Oishi, MY PRECIOUS HAIR!!!"

"Looks like you have to cut it, Eiji-sempai," remarked Echizen.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Tsuki-chan and I shared an evil grin. Eiji was being well repaid for his previous comments.

"Bubblegum?" spoke up a familiar, Kansai-accented voice. Both of us immediately shot daggers at the blunette. However, since we had already fastened our seatbelts and were on the opposite side of the plane, we couldn't really see him.

Even so, he may have felt our glares burning through the seats between us, and simply commented, "That's going to be hard to remove…"

"Yuushi, you are _so_ stating the obvious…" sweatdropped Shishido.

"Shishido-sempai…"

"Choutarou, it _is_ obvious!"

"…"

"Fshhh… Why is everybody yelling?"

"Baka mamushi, Eiji-sempai has bubblegum in his hair!"

"What did you call me?! I am _not_ a mamushi!"

"Are too!"

"Wanna have it out now?!"

"EVERYONE SHUT UP OR TEN LAPS AROUND THE AIRPORT THE MOMENT WE LAND!!" roared the three captains present.

Everyone instantly obeyed. The plane landed in complete silence, while Tsuki-chan and I muffled our laughter.

EIJI

"Mou… who would be so mean as to do something like this to me…" I moaned as we boarded the bus for the mansions.

Tsuki-chan put a comforting arm around my shoulders. "It'll be okay, Eiji, I was thinking you needed a new hairstyle anyway…"

I threw off her arm. "Was that even supposed to be helpful?!"

She was wearing her smiling poker face again, complete with the unreadable cloudy grey eyes. "Saa…" She went up ahead of me, catching up with Fujiko-chan.

I pouted. Those two were leaving me out more and more, and I really _hated_ the feeling of being left out.

"Eiji, are you okay?" asked Oishi.

"Nya… it's just that Fujiko-chan and Tsuki-chan seem to be leaving me out a lot nowadays…" I sighed.

"Chances that they are a couple is 50," Inui informed us, popping up from the seat behind.

I nearly banged my head on the ceiling as I leapt up in shock. "Mou, Inui! Stop doing that kind of thing already!"

"I assume you wanted that particular bit of information," continued Inui, completely ignoring me.

"Well… I suppose we did…"

"Nya? 50? That's not very helpful…"

'Inui, could you explain?"

Inui, of course, obliged. Pushing up his glasses, he said, "Apart from continually being together, they do not act like a couple, as in they do not fondle each other and etc. However, the possibility that Fuji likes Hayashi as more than a friend is 75, while the possibility that Hayashi likes Fuji as more than a friend is 50. It was originally also 75, but I have observed her flirting with Hyotei's Oshitari, which lowered the percentage. The possibility that Oshitari thinks of Hayashi as a potential girlfriend is 90, and the possibility that Hayashi returns his feelings is 45. Therefore, I conclude that Tsuki-chan has a 50 chance of becoming an item with Fuji and, again, a 50 chance of becoming an item with Oshitari."

"…I… see…"

During this very long explanation, the bus had already started to head up a mountain. I could hear the telltale clicks of a camera, signifying that Fujiko-chan was at work photographing the mountain scenery. I, on the other hand, was already nodding off…

"Eiji! Wake up! We've arrived at Yuki-chan's mansion!

**A/N: I'm ashamed of my own mush. But I totally LOVE Fuji's eyes. Please forgive the fangirling… and I don't think Inui's percentages are accurate, but ah heck. Review. I love them almost as much as I do Fuji. XD**


	13. Truth or Dare

Chapter 13: Truth or Dare! 

FUJI

The day after our arrival, everyone slept past noon due to fatigue and jetlag. We had somehow managed to drag ourselves up the stairs to the rooms, some of which were double, others that were single, before collapsing into the welcoming beds.

Eiji was still upset over his hair when I met him at lunch (there had been no breakfast as everybody had been sleeping). "Nya, Fujiko-chan, why would someone do this to me?" he pouted.

"Saa… maybe because you said something you shouldn't," I suggested. Which _was_ the exact reason why we had done it.

"Demo… I never said anything wrong, did I?"

I did not reply. He should be able to figure it out in due time.

Searching the large breakfast hall, I located our hostess. I tapped her on the shoulder. "Ohayo, Yuki-chan. Is there anything special planned for today, or do we get to just explore and familiarize ourselves with your mansion?"

"Ah, Fuji-kun, ohayo. No, I didn't plan on anything, I just expected everyone to want to laze and explore."

"How about we have some games?" I suggested. "You know, team bonding and all that…"

"That sounds nice… I'll think about it, ne?"

"Sure. I just suggested it; you don't really need to – "

"Oh, but I want to do it. Games will be really fun. I've just gotten a good idea for one. In fact, perhaps I should call Keigo-chan and the rest over to join in! Thank you, Fuji-kun!"

"It was nothing," I said, smiling. I had known that just telling her that she need not do it would make her want to do it. I had also counted on her calling Hyotei over; I wanted to watch Oshitari's pursuit of my friend.

YUKI

"Koori-sama, Atobe-sama and his friends have arrived," said a butler.

"Okay, show them to the largest lounge and call the rest of my guests to come there too," I ordered him.

"At once, Koori-sama." He saluted and went off to carry out my orders while I went to take care of some things.

It wasn't long before everyone arrived in the aforementioned lounge. Chaos reigned supreme by the time I got there.

"Yuki-sempai, you didn't have to wake us all up just to greet the Monkey King there," complained Echizen, rubbing sleepy eyes.

"Who did you call a Monkey King, arn?" demanded Keigo-chan

"You, Monkey King."

"Ore-sama is not a Monkey King."

"Good one, Echizen!" cheered Momo.

"You shouldn't encourage your kouhai to be so disrespectful to a sempai," mumbled Kaidoh. "Fshhhh…"

"What did you say, mamushi?"

"Wanna have it out now?"

Oishi broke in. "Please, Momo, Kaidoh, you are making a very bad impression of us on Hyotei!"

"We never _had_ a good impression of Seigaku," Mukahi informed him. "Where is Kikumaru? I want to have a good laugh at him; last night I couldn't see what had happened very clearly…"

"Gakuto…" sighed Yuushi-kun.

"What? In any case, it will be an improvement. That Kikumaru has such weird, spiky, bouncy, spit-ended hair. He really needs a haircut."

"Gakuto-sempai, you shouldn't say such things about Kikumaru-san!"

"I will say whatever I like about whoever I like, Choutarou!"

"Leave him, Choutarou. Gakuto is in one of his bitchy moods," explained Yuushi-kun.

"WHO DID YOU SAY WAS BITCHY??!!"

"How can Mukahi-san have bitchy moods?" Shinjutsu asked Tsuki-chan.

"PMS, maybe," replied Tsuki-chan.

"But Mukahi-san is a guy…"

"Who knows for sure? He doesn't really _look_ like a guy –""

"WHAT THE FREAKING HELL I SO AM A GUY HOW DARE YOU – "

"EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP OR TEN LAPS AROUND THE COMPOUND!!!" yelled a voice.

Everyone's mouths snapped shut immediately. Then Fuji-kun spoke up. "Saa, who would have known that Hikari-chan could be so fierce…"

For a moment, there was silence. Almost everybody wondered who Hikari-chan was.

"Fuji-kun, since when were you allowed to call me Hikari-chan?" demanded Tano-buchou.

"Tano… buchou…?" whispered Himitsu.

"Maa, maa, calm down, Hikari-chan. It does seem to have kept everybody quiet for a few seconds longer…" replied Fuji-kun, smiling as usual.

I sighed. "Okay, everybody. Let's start on what we are here for."

TSUKI

"So… what _are_ we here for, Yuki-sempai?" asked Echizen.

Yukimi gave the freshman a blinding grin. "We are here to play a game. Or maybe even a few games."

Almost everybody sweatdropped. "_Games_??!"

"You heard it." She sat down in a conveniently empty sofa.

'Eto… exactly _why_ have you suddenly decided to make us play games for you, Yuki-sempai?" asked Choutarou.

Shishido was less reserved with his feelings. "Why the hell did we come all the way here just to play some stupid games?!"

"Ore-sama demands an explanation, Yuki-chan."

"There isn't such a thing as knowing too much about your friends or teammates, is there?" asked Yukimi sweetly.

There was a general sigh of resignation. "Very well then, so what game are we going to play?"

The brilliant smile never wavered. "We shall play 'Truth or Dare'."

Now I smiled too.

YUKI

"Yes, I said 'Truth or Dare'. Surely none of you are too chicken to play…?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

A number of people twitched. They did not look especially happy. Other people, however, did. Among them were the data freaks Inui and Imai, as well as the three tensais, Fuji-kun, Yuushi-kun and Tsuki-chan.

"Now this sounds interesting," remarked Yuushi-kun, adjusting his round spectacles.

Tsuki-chan's eyes were almost glowing. "We'd certainly find out a lot."

"I'm really looking forward to this," commented Fuji-kun, with a sadistic smile.

"Ii data," chorused the data freaks, spectacles flashing in a way that did nothing to encourage anyone.

Almost everybody else shivered. "D-do we absolutely _have_ to play?" quavered Himitsu, voicing the question that everyone was thinking but did not dare to ask.

Inui grinned dangerously. "Anyone who does not play will have this" – he produced a large mug – "to look forward to."

Eiji-kun peered at the mug, keeping a safe distance. The purple-blue liquid inside was bubbling so much that it threatened to foam out of the mug. "What _is_ that?!" he asked, backing away.

"Special Fear-cure Power Inui Juice Remix," announced Inui. "It is guaranteed to cure your fear of anything… except itself."

A large open space formed around the tall, bespectacled boy, everyone retreating to a safe distance.

"Also, there is this" – he produced another large mug – "to be rewarded to those who do not do the dare or tell the truth when they are supposed to. It is the Golden Cheater's Award."

While he was talking, the brownish-yellow liquid slowly burned through the thick glass of the mug and dripped to the floor. The carpet it fell on sizzled briefly before turning to ash.

Everybody edged even further away, putting as much space as possible between themselves and the terrible juice.

I looked at them. "So, I assume everyone is playing?"

Vigorous nods of assent answered me. I grinned. "Right, let's get this started!

IMAI

Everyone arranged himself or herself into a rough circle in the open space of the lounge. Yuki-chan managed to get a pole on a support for our much larger version of the traditional bottle.

"I'll start, ne?" said Yuki-chan. Without waiting for an answer, she pushed the pole, which spun surprisingly steadily, before coming to rest with the marked end pointing at… me.

"Aki-chan? It's you, right?"

I nodded. "Dare."

"Drink the Special Fear-cure Power Inui Juice!" said Yuki-chan immediately.

I shrugged, taking the mug that Inui-sempai offered me. It bubbled dangerously, but I wasn't scared, even though there were nervous whispers all around me. Drinking down the whole mug of Inui Juice in one shot, I wiped my mouth. "Inui-sempai, I thought you said the taste had been thoroughly adjusted."

"It should be," replied my fellow data maniac.

"Well, it hasn't," I informed him. "You forgot the honey mustard, I believe."

"Honey… mustard…" repeated Eiji-sempai. "EWWWWWWW!!"

"Hmm… maybe I did. Well, no matter… it should still be able to knock out – I mean cure people of their fear."

Everyone sweatdropped. "Ah…

I smiled noncommittally and spun the pole. This time it came to rest on Atobe-san.

"Ore-sama chooses… truth." Obviously he didn't want to have to taste the juice.

Now I grinned. "Atobe-san… describe for us of the most embarrassing moment of your life."

ATOBE

"The most… embarrassing moment… of Ore-sama's…" I stuttered in disbelief.

Shishido laughed. "Yes Atobe, the _most_ embarrassing moment."

Yuushi smirked. "Remember, it must be the _very most_ embarrassing moment, not just any embarrassing moment."

I hesitated, then realized that Inui was counting aloud. "Five… Four… Three…"

Imai was still grinning at me. "Atobe-san, you will drink the Golden Cheater's Award if you do not say anything before Inui hits zero."

I glared at my teammates. "Ore-sama's most embarrassing moment occurred in Ore-sama's sixth grade."

"… continue, please, Atobe-san, if you stop talking for more than five seconds you will be given the Golden –"

"Okay, okay! Ore-samawaswalkedinonwhenOre-samawasmakingoutwithagirl!" I rushed out all in one breath.

Almost all of Seigaku cheered, except for Yuki-chan.

"Keigo-chan, you forgot to mention the braces!" she scolded, smiling evilly.

"Yeah, Atobe, you forgot," grinned Gakuto. If looks could kill, both of them would have been carted off to the cemetery already.

"Are? Keigo-chan, we seem to have forgotten something…" purred the Hayashi girl.

"Five… Four… Three…" counted Inui.

"Fine! At-that-time-Ore-sama-was-wearing-braces-and-the-girl-was-also-wearing-braces-and-because-we-both-had-braces-we-ended-up-in-a-jawlock-and-then-Yuushi-and-Gakuto-and-Shishido-and-Yuki-chan-came-in-and-caught-us-and-Ore-sama-was-unable-to-extricate-himself-and-recover-Ore-sama's-dignity-due-to-the-jawlock!"

"Atobe, breathe – you're turning purple," Yuushi said helpfully.

I glared at the blunette. He ignored me.

Slowly, the room burst into laughter as they finally registered my words.

YUKI

Keigo-chan was blushing really, really hard. I had a feeling that he was feeling almost as embarrassed now as he had then. "Sorry, Keigo-chan. Spin the pole, if you will," I said trying to sound contrite but not quite succeeding.

"Ore-sama is not affected at all by the laughter of such puny mortals as his companions," he said loftily, spinning the pole. It landed on Tsuki-chan.

She smiled. "Truth."

Yuushi-kun poked Keigo-chan and whispered something into his ear. Keigo-chan frowned, then sighed.

"Hayashi, tell us which of the guys here you like the most."

Her answer was immediate. "Fuji."

There was a short silence, then whistles, laughter and catcalls filled the room.

"Nya! Fujiko-chan I told you!"

"Way to go, Fuji-sempai!"

Fuji-kun just smiled as usual. "Saa, I'm honored, Tsuki-chan."

I grinned at Tsuki-chan. "So, I take it you two are an item now?"

She stared at me for a few seconds, then laughed. "So _that_ was what you were thinking! I didn't mean it that way, silly! Fuji's my best friend; we never were an item!"

Everyone looked at Fuji-kun for confirmation. He continued smiling. "She's right. Our relationship is strictly platonic, which means she's single. Oshitari, you are happy to hear that, ne?"

Yuushi-kun smirked. "I make no comments."

TSUKI

"Nya… So it's a love triangle…"

"Eiji! She just said that Fuji and her were not together!"

"Demo Oishi, a love triangle is so much more interesting!"

"That's right, Eiji-sempai, so right!"

"Momo, don't encouraging him!"

"Fshhh… baka peach…"

"What was that, you idiot?!"

"Want to go at it now?"

"Momo! Kaidoh! Stop it!"

"Seigaku is so badly behaved…"

"Shishido-sempai! We can't insult our hosts!"

"Choutarou, we are simply stating a fact."

"Ore-sama agrees with Yuushi. Ore-sama's cousin should have been better brought up than to play such a low-class game as Truth or Dare. Na, Kabaji?"

"Usu."

"Waka-chan, your buchou is even more arrogant than I remembered."

"I told you that it would be easy to gekokujyou him, nee-chan."

"Ore-sama will never be gekokujyoued. Remember that, Hiyoshi."

"Monkey King, it seems that you have forgotten the time when I beat you."

"What did you call Ore-sama, you brat?"

"… Mada mada dane."

"Ore-sama is not mada mada at all."

"What about that jaw lock, Keigo-chan?"

"Ore-sama makes allowances for you, Yuki-chan, but you go too far this time…"

"Atobe-san, please do not do anything physical to my fukubuchou, even if she is your cousin. I do not want any damaged teammates."

"Tano-buchou, what do you mean by 'anything physical'?"

"…Shinjutsu, you don't want to know."

"Eh? Yuki-sempai, does it mean –"

"Ore-sama would never do anything of that sort to Ore-sama's cousin. It would be classified as incest."

"_Eh_?!"

"Ne, Oshitari-san, how are you going to snare Tsuki-chan?"

"It wouldn't be very difficult, Fuji, considering that you've managed to keep her for two months."

"Saa…"

I kept my poker face throughout the suggestive remarks and arguments that arose from my truth and, when they showed no signs of stopping, spun the pole. That immediately got everyone's attention.

It came to rest pointing at Mukahi. "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare," he said at once, having seen the humiliation of his own buchou.

I grinned. "Let's see… until you all go back to Atobe the Monkey King's mansion, you shall wear a female outfit – chosen by me.

He stared at me in shock. "_What_?!"

"Ore-sama is _not_ a Monkey King!" repeated Atobe. Nobody paid any attention to him whatsoever.

Walking over, I pulled my victim to his feet and linked my arm through his with a bright smile. "Come with me and we will pick out something suitable."

FUJI

"Evil…"

"Poor Gakuto…"

"I really pity him…"

I chuckled. "This will be funny."

"Fuji-sempai, you are scary… as scary as Tsuki-sempai…" mumbled Momo.

"Now why would you say so? Don't you think it will be amusing to see Mukahi in a dress?"

"… now that you mention it…"

"See, you think so too."

There was a yell from upstairs. "I WILL _NEVER_ WEAR _THAT_!!!"

We all laughed. "Looks like Tsuki-chan has chosen something already," commented Yuki-chan.

"Do you think she'd make him wear lingerie?"

"Aki-chan! That's disgusting!" cried Himitsu, blushing.

"Well, Imai, there is a 50 chance of Hayashi forcing him into wearing lingerie and a 100 chance that she is making him wear something extremely feminine and revealing," said Inui.

"… We kind of guessed that, Inui…"

A few minutes of heated speculation later, the door to the lounge opened. Everyone sat up, eyes riveted on it, excitement plain on their faces.

Then Mukahi walked in.

A choke. A gasp. A blush. A snort.

Mukahi Gakuto was wearing a _hot pink clinging halter-neck tank top_ that clashed magnificently with his bright red hair and equally red face. It was paired with a _pastel blue, frilly, lacy, tiered miniskirt_.

And the whole room roared with laughter.

No, that was an understatement. People were rolling on the floor with mirth, clutching their sides as they struggled for breath, while others clung weakly to their friends, trying to ease the stitches in their sides – a result of their uncontrollable laughter. Even Tezuka's lips were twitching.

**A/N: One of my longer chapters, since it was originally two chapters, then I cut and joined them together. I love Atobe's truth – credits to Sfetz for the idea. Review, ne.**


	14. Violin Duet

Chapter 14: Violin Duet 

TSUKI

After Mukahi's dare, things kind of decelerated. Fuji went to take pictures of the area, Eiji asked for a hairstylist and the data freaks went off to revise the Special Fear-cure Power Inui Juice. On a whim, I decided to check out Yuki-chan's music room – it being a rich household, it should be something to see.

It took a few maids and a butler to get me where I wanted. Seeing that there was a light on inside, I knocked on the door before entering.

"Yuushi-kun?" I said, surprised to see the blunette.

He lowered his violin. "Ah, Tsuki-chan. What brings you to this music room?"

"I could ask the same of you," was my replied.

"As you can see, I am here to play my violin."

I walked over to look at it and whistled in admiration. "Stradivarius, or I'm vegetarian lion."

"Happily for you, it _is_ a Stradivarius."

"Mm, but being a vegetarian lion – or rather lioness – might be interesting…" I mused.

He raised the violin again. "Yes, you would make a very pretty lioness."

I glanced at him in mild surprise as he began to play. "Flirt."

"I know. I can't help flirting with gorgeous girls. By the way, congratulations on Gakuto's dare. I thoroughly enjoyed it."

"No problem. It really was entertaining – I think we didn't stop laughing for at least fifteen minutes. I believe that's Elgar's Salut d'Amor?"

"Correct. Have you played it before?"

"Actually I have. A very nice piece, if I do say so myself – simple, but beautiful."

"I fully agree. You are here to play, no? Yuki-chan's violin pieces are over there."

"Thanks." I flipped through them for a while. "Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Dvorak, Kreisler, Faure… quite a variety she has here." One particular booklet had caught my eye, and I held it up. "Ne, Yuushi-kun… have you ever played this?"

He looked at it and raised an eyebrow. "J.S. Bach's Double Violin Concerto in D minor…? No… I haven't played it before… it _is_ for two violins, in case you didn't realize…"

I smiled at him. "Well, I haven't played it either. Let's sight-read, shall we? Whoever makes a mistake first will have to do a forfeit."

"A challenge…" He smirked. "Very well, but we shall decide on a forfeit if and when the other makes a mistake. That'll keep up the suspense."

"Sure. Let's start when I've warmed up."

YUUSHI

She didn't know what she had gotten herself into. I was definitely not going to lose, not if I could get her to do a forfeit if she lost.

While setting the metronome to the correct time, I listened to her style as she tuned, then warmed up with a couple of scales and arpeggios before dancing through a light Humoreske. She played with ease, fingers moving swiftly over the fingerboard. She was, actually, almost as good as I was – and I was good.

Tsuki-chan turned around and smiled at me. "Shall we begin?"

"Whenever you're ready."

TEZUKA

"Fuji, was it you who implanted the idea of games with Hyotei into Koori-san's head?" I asked sternly.

The tensai gave me an angelically innocent smile. "Why would you think that?"

I fought the urge to rub my temples. Almost any form of interaction with Fuji was just about guaranteed to give me a terrible migraine.

"Because, Fuji, you are the only one who would. I am sure that she would not have thought of it herself."

His smile was positively dazzling. "Saa…"

Avoiding the question again. I should have known that this holiday wouldn't be so easy, not when there was the Fuji Aspect.

The Fuji Aspect ensured that if things were going too smoothly for the sadist's tastes, anything that could possibly go wrong would most definitely go wrong at the worst possible moment. The Fuji Aspect kept the team living in fear whenever something was planned; it had a 100 success rate; and it was a living, breathing migraine for me.

"Ne, Tezuka, have you seen Tsuki-chan? She disappeared a while ago…"

"No, I haven't seen her." Actually I _had_, but I preferred to keep the two sadistic tensais _apart_ from each other as much as I could. It was safer.

"That's sad. Oh, Taka-san! Have you seen Tsuki-chan?"

"Oh, Tsuki-chan? I think I heard Yuki-chan saying something about her bringing a violin… maybe the music rooms?" offered the taller boy.

"Thanks, Taka-san. I'll go look for her there. Ja!"

As the angelic devil left, I allowed myself to heave a sigh. So much for my plan to keep them apart.

TSUKI

I've always liked sight-reading. There is the challenge at every bar, the timing to keep track of, the choice between the upbow and downbow for each note. And now, since it was a duet piece, it was going to be even more interesting.

We played through the first movement without much incident, getting used to the speed and style of the music as well as those of our partner. However, we knew that in order to win, we had to cause the other to make a mistake. The peace would not last.

I was right. A little way into the second movement, the blunette spoke up.

"Na, Tsuki-chan, what instruments do you play?"

"Violin, flute, and harp. What about you?" I returned without missing a beat.

"Violin and piano."

We continued playing in silence for a while. Then he heaved a sigh.

"What's wrong?" I asked, pulling in my hand for an exceptionally high note, then sliding back down the scale.

"I am going to lose this…"

"Oh, so you are giving up already? Why are you going to lose, anyway?"

"Because I am distracted."

"By what? Not me, by chance?" I asked jokingly.

"You're right; I am distracted by you. The way your beautiful hands move as you play, the sway of your body, the glow of your hair…" he sighed again.

"If you think that will distract me, you are in for a disappointment," I informed him, playing as if nothing had been said.

He walked over to me, still playing. "Well then, perhaps this will do the trick."

Leaning over the violins, he kissed me full on the lips. I gasped in shock as my bow screeched over the strings.

He smirked, playing one more note. "I win. And for your forfeit…" He kissed me again, lingering, teasing. Damn, he was good… I could feel my body already melding to his. Then, angry at myself for surrendering so easily, I pushed him away.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" I demanded, my cheeks heated.

"You lost, didn't you? I'm collecting the debt you owe me," he replied. "And you don't seem to be all that averse to it, either." Strong arms pulled me close again; rough lips rasped over my own while hands ran over my back.

Just then, there was a knock on the door and someone came in.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I seem to be interrupting something…" came an all too familiar voice.

I struggled out of Yuushi's hold. "Fuji! What –?"

His sapphire eyes were open as he held up a flute. "I was _going_ to see what kind of flute music Yuki-chan has. But don't let me intrude…"

"No, Fuji – Wait!" I cried in desperation.

Closing his eyes into his usual smile, he waved. "Ja ne, Tsuki-chan. Enjoy yourself with Yuushi-kun." With that, he turned and walked away.

"Fuji!"

**A/N: Hmm… YuushiXTsuki was actually too enticing for me to pass over… review to let me know what you think… please?**

**PS: I personally hate sightreading. T.T but then that just goes to show that this isn't self-insertion.**

**PPS: I credit the fic 'If Wishes were Horses, Beggars would Ride' for the Fuji Aspect, though it was originally called the Fuji Factor.**


	15. What's Wrong?

Chapter 15: What's wrong? 

FUJI

Oshitari was a really fast worker. He had met her… two days ago? And was already making out with her. She didn't seem too happy about it, but it wasn't like it was my business. Somehow I didn't really want to meddle in Tsuki-chan's love matters, though I usually liked nothing more than to do that to my other friends.

As I walked back in the direction of our rooms, I bumped into the Hiyoshi siblings.

"Gomen, Nimiko-chan, Wakashi-kun; I wasn't paying attention," I apologized.

"No problem," replied Nimiko.

"Anyway, since you're here, have you seen Yuushi-sempai? Atobe sent me to tell him that we are going back to his mansion now," said Wakashi-kun

I hung on tight to my poker face. "He's in the music room. However, I don't think you should walk in unannounced though – he's rather _busy_ with Tsuki-chan right now."

Nimiko looked surprised. "Really? Hmm… I didn't think that Tsuki-chan was that kind of girl. They only met yesterday, didn't they?"

Wakashi's eyebrow twitched. "Yes, nee-chan, but remember this is Yuushi-sempai…"

"True…"

"Whatever. Thanks, Fuji-san. We'll be going now." The siblings took their leave.

I kept my poker face on even after they were out of sight, unsure of exactly how one should react to catching a close female friend _fraternizing with the enemy_, so to speak. If it were anyone else I would probably have been laughing inwardly and using it as blackmail material or spying on them, but in this case, I wasn't laughing, nor did I have any urge to spy. More conventional people would be angry, but I wasn't angry either; like me, Oshitari got what he wanted as long as he tried. I didn't grudge him at all, because I had a feeling that Tsuki-chan had lost a bet or something of that sort to end up making out with him.

Plus, Tsuki-chan didn't seem too upset until I announced my presence. Perhaps she liked him too… after all, both of them were tensais; they would make a great pair.

TSUKI

"What the – !" I exclaimed. "You – "

He smirked. "Tell me you didn't enjoy it."

I glared at him. "You totally took advantage of me."

"It doesn't seem to have affected you that much."

"Is that even supposed to be a good thing?"

"Maybe."

"Baka."

"You ought to find better endearments."

"It's not an endearment."

"Exactly."

I groaned in exasperation. "I give up."

"Good. I knew you would eventually." Catching hold of me, he gave me another hard kiss that left me feeling slightly bruised.

"You really should be gentler," I complained, pouting flirtatiously.

"I take that as in invitation to do this more often."

He was proceeding to do just that when we were again interrupted by a knock on the door. "Yuushi-sempai? Atobe says that we are leaving for his mansion soon and he wants us back in the lounge ASAP," came Wakashi's voice.

"Okay, tell Atobe I'm coming," replied Yuushi-kun.

"Get going then," I told him. "You wouldn't want the Monkey King to get pissed."

"Pissing Atobe off in one of my hobbies," he informed me.

I grinned. "Maybe we will get along after all."

He smirked again. "I thought that that was a given."

With that, he picked up his violin and left. I stared at the door for quite a while after he was gone.

EIJI

"Fujiko, what do you think of my haircut? Its _awful_ isn't it?!" I wailed at the ever-smiling tensai.

Oh, Eiji. Don't worry, it isn't so bad," he said patting my shoulder comfortingly.

"Nya? Really?"

"Mm. In any case, it'll grow eventually. Want to see Hyotei off? They're going back to Atobe's mansion soon."

"Okay!" I agreed enthusiastically.

On our way back to the lounge, I suddenly realized something was amiss. "Hoi? Where's Tsuki-chan?" I asked.

"Saa… she's probably still in the music room with Oshitari."

"Eh? What do you mean, with Oshitari?"

"I mean that she's with Oshitari," he replied unhelpfully."

"Mou, Fujiko-chan, you know what I mean!"

"No, Eiji, I most certainly have no idea what you mean."

I blinked at him in confusion. It wasn't like Fujiko at all to be so apparently clueless, especially when it was something to do with a friend. Not just any friend either; it was _Tsuki-chan_ we were talking about This was just _wrong_ for Fujiko.

"Fujiko… is there something wrong?" I ventured.

His horseshoe eyes flickered open, brilliant blue piercing straight through me. "No."

I involuntarily took a step backwards. "Eh… gomen!"

He smiled, eyes sliding closed again. "No problem, Eiji."

I let out a breath of relief. "Phew."

FUJI

Pandemonium was reigning again when we arrived at the lounge.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!!"

"Gakuto, are you deaf as well as bitchy? I said you're PMSing!"

"Shishido-sempai!"

"Shut up, Choutarou. If I say he – I mean she – "

"I _AM_ A GUY YOU (BEEP)ING, (BEEP)ED, (BEEP) – "

"No vulgarities in Ore-sama's presence, Gakuto!"

"Monkey King, stop pretending you aren't enjoying it."

"Ore-sama ignores you, brat."

"Mada mada dane, Monkey King."

"Ne, Aki-chan, why does Echizen-kun call Atobe-san a Monkey King?"

"Well, Shoko-chan, I would say he looks rather like one, which prompted Echizen-kun to give him the nickname."

"Yuki-chan, kindly quiet your teammates before Ore-sama is forced to do something drastic."

"But Keigo-chan, she does have a point."

"… Ore-sama shall pretend to not have heard that particular comment."

"Say, where's that Oshitari person? I don't see him, don't see him at all…"

"Fsshhhh…. Obviously he hasn't come yet, baka peach."

"What was that, Mamushi?"

"Fshhh… baka peach…"

"Please don't start that again, Momo, Kaidoh!"

Eiji bounced over to join in. "Look at my hair!"

"Kikumaru…? BWAHAHAHA!"

"Unya?"

"You look worse that before, if that's even possible!"

"Gakuto-sempai! You shouldn't insult our hosts!"

"But Choutarou, you can't deny that he looks terrible."

"EHHHHH?!!! Fujiko-chan, you said it looks okay!!"

I smiled. "Maa, it looked better than I thought it would after the bubblegum."

"NANI?!!!"

"EVERYONE SHUT UP OR RUN TEN LAPS AROUND THE COMPOUND!!!!" roared the three buchou-tachi. The room immediately fell silent.

"Saa… what were we here for again?" I prompted.

TSUKI

After I had recovered, I headed back to the lounge, since that it seemed that everyone was gathering there. However, by the time I got there Hyotei had already left.

"They've left already?"

"Yes, they have. Where were you?" asked Yukimi.

"Eh? Oh, I was in the music room. You have some really nice pieces," I told her.

She looked at me curiously. "Tsuki-chan, is something the matter?"

"What? Oh, nothing. Nothing at all," I said, smiling as innocently as I could.

"Hmm… Well, if there is, feel free to tell me; I'll try my best to help." She walked off.

I blinked after her. Surely I hadn't been acting strange or anything…

There was a tap on my shoulder, and a familiar voice spoke. "Saa, Tsuki-chan, you seem somewhat rattled."

I whirled around, then breathed a breath of relief. "Oh, it's just you, Fuji."

"What do you mean by 'it's just you'? You should be grateful that Ore-sama has bestowed the glow of his presence upon you."

"That sounds more like Atobe than Fuji. Where did you get the disguise from, Monkey King?"

He chuckled. "Now _that_ sounds more like the Tsuki-chan that I know."

I blinked. "Am I acting weird or something?"

"Saa… let's see, you seem to be lost in a world of your own; you don't seem to know what's happening around you – need I go on?"

Sighing, I said, "No need. I get the point."

"Try not to be so obvious, ne? Ja." Smiling mischievously, he took his leave.

I stared at his retreating back. This was definitely not like him. I had expected him to tease me and make me the butt of a few very painful jokes, and perhaps spread the news to everyone just to finish the job. He didn't seem to be doing any of those things… yet.

Then again, why did he seem to be trying to help me?

"Fuji…?"

A/N: I truly love the interschool arguments. :D Review if they sound OOC. And review if they don't, too. XD


	16. A Warning

Chapter 16: A Warning 

IMAI

"Ne, Inui-sempai. Check that out."

"I have already been taking data on them for the past 5.3 minutes, Imai."

"Just in case. There _was_ a 70 chance of that."

"Wrong. It was a 80 chance."

"If you say so."

Both of us continued staring in the direction of Tsuki-sempai and Oshitari-san. Kikumaru-sempai streaked past with Momo-sempai and Echizen-kun, screaming happily. Ootori-san came down more slowly, helping Himitsu keep her balance and followed closely by Yuki-sempai and Shishido-san. Fuji-sempai, I noticed, was nowhere to be seen.

"Inui-sempai. Where is Fuji-sempai?"

"There is an 60 chance he is on the ski lifts or higher up the slope. I assume you wished to know why Fuji isn't keeping an eye on them?"

Nodding, I glanced up the slope. There was no sign of Fuji-sempai.

"They are holding hands. Ii data," said Inui-sempai. "Fraternizing with the enemy. We must notify the buchou-tachi."

"Mm. We wouldn't want our school's data leaking out."

Climbing out from behind the rocks that prevented anyone on the slope from seeing us while still giving us a good view of everything, we began heading back to the café at the base of the slope.

TANO

"Inui. Imai."

"Tezuka."

I spoke up. "Inui-san, exactly why are you here?"

"Ore-sama also wishes to know your reason for leaving off your data-gathering on our teams' skiing skills."

"The data that we have taken is what caused us to be here," replied Inui-san

Aki-chan nodded in agreement, and I sighed. " Please get on with it, both of you. The others might come in at any time."

Inui-san coughed. "I beg to differ. There is only a mere 15 chance that anyone will come in and interrupt us."

Tezuka made as if to rub his temples, then seemed to think better of it. "Inui."

"Yes?"

"Spill. Now."

"Very well. Imai and I have, after much observation, come to the conclusion that Hyotei's Oshitari Yuushi and Seigaku's Hayashi Tsukiko are – for want of a better word – together."

"Ore-sama wishes to know what your definition of 'together' is."

"Normally, the word 'dating' would be more apt, but as they are technically _not_ dating, we have to settle for the word 'together'," explained Aki-chan.

"In any case, this is a very important event," declared Inui-san. "The danger of leaking the secrets of their respective teams to their – lover – is all too apparent. We must all take measures to prevent it from happening."

"So, what are you suggesting?" I asked. "Keep them out of our club meetings?"

Aki-chan disagreed. "Tano-buchou, doing that would be not only futile, but also self-destructive."

"Hayashi is as unpredictable and secretive as Fuji. Both of them have a unique talent for prying, and once they have an objective, they will never let it go until they get what they want. Since they are both acknowledged tensais, as is Oshitari, there is a 90 chance that Oshitari has similar traits," explained Inui-san.

"Atobe, is this the case?" I addressed the Hyotei buchou.

"Ore-sama believes so."

"Continue, Inui," instructed Tezuka.

"As I have said, they will pursue their goal relentlessly until they obtain it. Keeping them away from the club meetings will at best pique their curiosity, which would cause them to start looking into the matter; at worst they will get angry and force information from us through… methods that are better left unsaid."

Everyone shuddered inwardly at the thought.

"In the end, what do you propose we do?" asked Tezuka, once we had recovered.

Inui-san began to open his ever-present notebook. "I would – "

The sudden opening of the door and the grand entrance of Fuji interrupted him. "Saa, everybody, what's going on?" he asked, his signature smile adorning his face as always.

FUJI

I came into the café to find the three buchou-tachi and the pair of data freaks all looking very serious. Well, Tezuka and Inui almost always looked serious, but that wasn't the point of contention.

They were all staring rather accusingly at me. Yes, even Tezuka, though it was _very_ well concealed. However, I noticed Inui's eyebrow was twitching.

"There was only a 15 chance that someone would come into this café…" he muttered. "This is illogical."

I smiled innocently at him. "Well, why wouldn't I be the 15?"

He twitched again. "I must have missed out the Fuji Aspect…"

"Fuji. Why are you here?" asked Tezuka.

"Was there ever a rule on not being allowed to come into a café to defrost after freezing outside?" My voice was sugary sweet.

"Well, would you mind" cough "defrosting" cough "_after_ we finish our talk?" asked Imai, the only sophomore in the room.

I opened my eyes, pinning her down with my stare. I was in a bad mood, and I planned to let her know.

Out of the corners of my eyes, I noticed the buchou-tachi all edging away in an effort of self-preservation, while Inui scribbled furiously in his green notebook. "Ii data," he muttered. "Fuji gets angry upon seeing Hayashi with Oshitari."

"Inui," I said in an altogether too friendly tone. "Would you like me to tell everyone of what happened when you were a freshman? How all the girls reject-"

Inui instantly snapped his book shut and placed it on the table, holding up his hands to show that he was not taking any notes. I smiled, and everyone took another step backwards.

TSUKI

"Stop it, Yuushi!" I said, laughing.

"But I don't want to," he replied, catching me and pulling me down beside him.

"We'd get our clothes wet," I pointed out.

"Yes, but it's more private here."

"What exactly are you planning to do?"

He smirked. "Nothing planned… we should just go by our instincts, na. I believe things will happen on their own."

I squirmed inwardly. This was _way_ to suggestive.

"Eh… Yuushi, would you mind if I went to the café? I'd like to get warm before going for that run again," I said, trying to steer things towards a more comfortable direction.

"I don't mind. _But_, I'm coming with you. What kind of guy would I be if I let you go without being escorted?" His smirk never twitched, and I gave it up. He was just about as insistent and argumentative as Fuji and, for that matter, me.

Having skied down to the café, I wondered what the chances of the café being empty were. But the first thing I saw upon stepping in was Fuji, locked in a staring match with Aki-chan. His eyes were open, which made me sort of pity Aki-chan, though she must have done _something_ to piss Fuji off.

Then again, I remembered that Fuji usually laughed off attempts to irritate him and turned the situation around so that it was the other person getting irritated.

"Hello, Fuji," I greeted him.

Aki-chan gasped for breath as he broke the stare to turn to me, eyes sliding closed into their normal horseshoe shape. "Hello, Tsuki-chan. Oshitari."

"Yo, Fuji," said Yuushi. Indicating Aki-chan, he asked, "What did she do?"

Fuji turned away to look at Aki-chan again. "Nothing that she will do again, in any case."

Aki-chan shook her head violently. "Stop threatening her. She didn't do anything to you," said Tezuka sternly.

Fuji ignored his buchou, instead turning back to me. "Weren't you two on the slopes just now?"

I nodded. "We were, but I wanted to get warmer for a while."

He raised his eyebrows, about to ask why I needed to be warmer when I never minded temperatures much and was still pretty well bundled up.

I returned it with a look that read, don't say that. This was just an excuse to stop Oshitari from doing anything.

His eyes flickered open, and he frowned slightly. The look he gave me was, _doing_ anything?

Yes, was my silent answer. You should know what I mean.

He turned his gaze on Yuushi, who was observing our silent exchange with interest. I glimpsed a flash of icy sapphire. "Oshitari, would you mind coming outside with me?"

Yuushi glanced at me, and I nodded in reply. He shrugged. "Sure."

"Thanks." Fuji led the way out of the café.

"Is there something I should know about?" I inquired, glancing around at the other occupants of the café.

Now that Fuji was out of the place, Inui had grabbed his notebook and pen and was scribbling so fast that the pages flew as if in a wind. "Very, very interesting data," he said to nobody in particular and to the room at large.

YUUSHI

"I assume this is something to do with Tsuki-chan?" I said once we were out of the café.

"Yes. What were you doing just before you came to the café?" the delicate-looking boy asked, leading me towards a stand of rocks.

Settling down on one of them, I said, "I was suggesting that we should go a bit… deeper."

Instead of sitting down, he remained standing. "Oshitari."

"Mm?"

"I want to make this clear." He looked at me, eyes open. "Don't toy with Tsuki-chan, or I'll make you pay."

I raised my eyebrows. "Who said I was going to toy with her?"

"Oshitari, I don't need to be told. You always toy with girls, no matter who they are. You two-time them, come close and then push away. On anyone else I wouldn't care, but this is Tsuki-chan, and in her case I _do_ care."

"You know, I'd say you're just jealous that I made the first move," I informed him.

I don't like it when people mistreat my friends." He turned away. Instead of walking back towards the café, which I expected, he disappeared into the conifer forest.

His voice came floating back to me. "Remember what I said."

Oh, I would certainly remember. But take it to heart? Now, _that_ was another matter altogether.

**A/N: Overprotective and silent communication… am I going overboard? Sighz… review, please…**


	17. Ryobaby's Birthday Present: Glomping

Chapter 17: Ryo-baby's birthday presents: Glomping 

TSUKI

"Saa, Tsuki-chan, did you know it's Echizen's birthday today?" asked Fuji over breakfast.

"Really? Wait… today is Christmas Eve isn't it…" As usual in the morning, my brain was still sluggish. "His birthday is on Christmas Eve?"

"Yes." He slathered a pancake liberally with wasabi before putting it into his mouth and chewing with obvious enjoyment.

"Poor him. He probably doesn't get any real birthday presents; only Christmas presents," I commented.

"Well, that's at least something. I only get real birthdays every four years."

"Oh… a leap year baby?"

"Mm. When's _your_ birthday?"

I swallowed the mouthful of toast before answering. "Boxing Day."

"That's the day after tomorrow – why didn't you tell us? I didn't bring any extra presents," protested Fuji.

"Ah well, I suppose I just forgot," I replied, shrugging.

"Mou, Tsuki-chan, this isn't the sort of thing you can forget!" he pouted in his best imitation of Eiji.

I laughed. "Fuji, you baka. I don't really need presents; I'm kind of used to just getting Christmas presents and no birthday presents."

I was quite glad to find that Fuji had gotten over his bad mood. Although I would never admit it to him, an angry Fuji was definitely something to be feared. I much preferred the sadistic joker who teased me and played tricks on everyone, and then smiled so sweetly you would just _have_ to let him get away with it, no matter how much you wanted to give him a good, strong uppercut to the jaw.

As if he knew what I was thinking, he said, "Well, that Oshitari pretty well pissed me off. He _was_ trying to take advantage of you, in case you didn't realize." He examined the piece of omelet on his plate, as if deciding exactly _how_ he was going to eat it.

I pitied that omelet. "Fuji, you're supposed to _eat_ it, not stare at it."

He laughed. "I _am_ going to eat it." Doing just that, he continued, "Anyway, let's go and congratulate little Ryo-baby on this most wonderful day – his birthday."

RYOMA

"Yo, Echizen," greeted Tsuki-sempai. Fuji-sempai, who was beside her, just smiled. Then again, because it _was_ Fuji-sempai, the tensai with the eternal smile, it probably didn't really count for anything.

It didn't. "Hello, Ryo-baby. Happy birthday."

I scowled at him. "Don't call me that, Fuji-sempai."

His smile widened. "Now, Ryo-baby, I was just about to give you a present and all…"

"Unya! Mou, Ochibi! Why didn't you tell us it's your birthday?" Kikumaru-sempai suddenly glomped me from behind, followed almost immediately by Momo-sempai.

"That's not nice, Echizen, not nice at all!"

I could feel the air being squeezed out of my lungs under the combined pressure of both my sempai-tachi. "Momo… sempai… Kikumaru-sem… pai… can't… breathe… leggo…" I choked.

They obeyed at once. "Gomen, Ochibi!" said Kikumaru-sempai, though he was still grinning.

Momo-sempai was still shaking his head over me. "How could you not have told us about your birthday? We didn't bring any presents, none at all!"

Rubbing my sore back and chest, I muttered, "Betsuni. I wasn't expecting any." What I really meant was, "I didn't tell you so that you wouldn't give me any," but nobody needed to know that.

"Saa, Ryo-baby, could it be that you didn't tell us so that we wouldn't give you any presents?"

I glared at the smiling demon that went by the name of Fuji Syuusuke before tugging at my cap in an attempt to avoid answering the question.

It was not to be. Upon hearing Fuji-sempai's remark, Kikumaru-sempai and Momo-sempai both glomped me again.

"Ochibi, is Fujiko-chan right?"

"You shouldn't keep things from your sempai-tachi, you really shouldn't," reprimanded Momo-sempai.

Once again I was suffocating. "Sempai… tachi… no… air… air…" As I slipped into unconsciousness, I swear I could hear the unmistakable laughter of a certain pair of sadistic tensais.

YUKI

"So, it's decided?" I asked.

"Ore-sama just said that, Yuki-chan."

"Whatever, Keigo-chan. See you tonight then." I put the phone back on its stand and stretched before heading down for breakfast.

On the way there, I bumped into Tsuki-chan and Fuji-kun. Both of them seemed to be in a very good mood; they were laughing over something or other when I found them.

"Ohayo, Tsuki-chan, Fuji-kun," I greeted them. "What happened that's so funny?"

Tsuki-chan gave me an all too innocent smile. "Nothing at all, Yuki-chan. We were simply congratulating Echizen on his birthday."

I cocked an eyebrow. "I take it that he didn't particularly want his birthday to be broadcasted?"

Both turned the full power of their best, most angelically innocent smiles on me. "Saa, Yuki-chan, why on earth would you be thinking anything of that sort?"

I sighed. "That just confirms it." They continued smiling. "Oh, and before I forget, since you two are here, I might as well tell you. Pack up your party stuff; we're going to Keigo-chan's mansion for Christmas."

Now they dropped their smiles. "We are staying at Atobe's mansion for Christmas?"

"Yeah, he's gotten all the Christmas party things ready. We leave as soon as everyone is ready."

EIJI

"Unya? Why are we going to Atobe's mansion for Christmas?" I asked, puzzled.

"Saa, Eiji, I don't know. That's all Yuki-chan told us."

"Mou…"

Once the news had reached everyone, there was a giant flurry of activity as everybody packed what he or she thought they required for the Christmas party.

"Fujiko-chan, are you done packing?"

"Mm. What about you, Eiji?"

"Nya, I need help! I can't decide what to bring!"

Ochibi, who happened to walk past the door with his own bag at that moment, pulled at his cap. "Mada mada dane, Kikumaru-sempai."

"O-chi-bi!" I leapt out of my door and glomped him.

"Itte – "

"Eiji! Echizen still hasn't fully recovered from what you did this morning!" scolded Oishi, emerging from his room on the left of mine (Fujiko's room was on my right).

"Really? Gomen Ochibi!" I released him.

He coughed. "Betsuni."

**A/N: Poor Ryo-baby… Forgive the fangirl Japanese and Review, please.**


	18. The Added Chaos of Rikkaidai

Chapter 18: The Added Chaos of Rikkaidai 

ATOBE

I swept out through the doors to greet our guests. "Ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na (be awed by my prowess)!"

And well they should be awed. My servants had spent the whole day yesterday and half the day today getting everything ready. They had decked out the whole mansion in festive decorations: Holly and poinsettia were placed in pots everywhere, with a few mistletoe branches hanging from the ceilings in each room for fun. Every leaf was gilded. Ribbons graced the ceilings and windows; wreaths adorned the doors. Twelve pots of gold roses were set on the steps in front of my main door.

I naturally expected them to be awed. They surely had never seen such décor for Christmas in their lives – unless it was the shopping malls', and then again that kind of décor was cheap and low-class. This was the real thing.'

"Uwah! Fujiko, look at all this! This is too cool!" cried Kikumaru, bouncing up the steps into the hallway.

Fuji's smile stretched just a bit wider. "Eiji, you're under some mistletoe. With Atobe."

"EEEEEAAAAH!!!" Kikumaru ran back out of the hall to get away from the said mistletoe.

I had forgotten about that mistletoe myself. Hurriedly moving out from under it, I flipped my hair. "Ore-sama's prowess shines brighter than the sun."

"Yeah, yeah, Keigo-chan, stop flipping your hair and show us to our rooms. Did you invite anybody else?" Yuki-chan pushed past me, handing her baggage to a footman.

"As a matter of fact, Ore-sama took the liberty of sending Ore-sama's private jets to ferry some other acquaintances over." Turning to my butler, I said, "Bring all Ore-sama's other guests to the blue sitting room."

"It shall be done immediately, Obbocchama." Bowing, he hurried off to carry out his orders.

Looking at another butler, I said, "Conduct these guests to their rooms."

He, too, bowed. "At once, Obbocchama. Okyaku-sama-tachi, please follow me."

I smiled. Things were going smoothly

FUJI

"Atobe sure went through a lot of trouble," observed Tsuki-chan as we followed a maid down the stairs after we had chosen our rooms and unpacked.

"Maa, he does have servants by the truckload," I replied.

"Point."

We walked in comfortable silence for a while until the maid stopped in front of a pair of double doors and curtseyed. "Okyaku-sama-tachi, we have arrived at the blue sitting room."

"Thanks for your trouble," I said, smiling at her.

She blushed and ducked her head before hurrying away.

Tsuki-chan shook her head at me. "Tsk, tsk, we arrived less than an hour ago and you've already made a conquest."

"Pot calls the kettle black," I retorted. "What about you and Oshitari?"

She pushed open the door without answering and a tsunami of sound slammed into us.

"MARUI-SAN!!!"

"Jirou, calm down! You're going to strangle Marui at this rate!"

"Atobe, kindly keep your teammates from physically damaging any of mine."

"Ore-sama apologized in advance already, Sanada."

"Maa, Sanada, I'm sure Bunta will be okay."

"YUKIMURA!! I'M SUFFOCATING HERE!!"

"Jackal, help him."

"Jirou, get off Marui. It is an extremely unpleasant sight."

"Demo Yuushi, its MARUI-SAN!!!"

"Yes, but the way you are carrying on you're really going to kill him."

"Momo-sempai, they look like they're making out."

"That's right, so right."

"Ii data…"

"This is really funny."

"Niou, one should not delight in other's discomfort."

"Yagyuu, even if you are a gentleman you still have to admit its funny."

"Well…"

"Aki-chan, who exactly are they?"

"It's the Rikkaidai boys' team, Himitsu."

"Oh, I see."

"Keigo-chan, why the Rikkaidai team?"

"Call it a whim, Yuki-chan. Ore-sama's whims are reason enough."

"Monkey King is such an baka."

"If Ore-sama has to go to drastic measures to shut you up, brat –"

"Atobe! You and Echizen are under the mistletoe! BWAHAHA!!"

"Gakuto, ten times up and down the east tower stairs. Now."

"… Mada mada dane, Monkey King."

"BWAHAHA!! Now Choutarou and Shishido are under it!"

"Twenty times, Gakuto. Go or it'll be fifty."

"You deserve it, Gakuto."

"I do not."

"Yes you do; after all you are a PMSing bitch."

"Shishido-san!"

"It's true, Choutarou."

"I AM NOT A (BEEP) BITCH YOU (BEEP)ING (BEEP)"

"No vulgarities in Ore-sama's presence! A hundred times on the tower stairs, NOW."

"Fine." Gakuto left, fuming.

YUKIMURA

"Greetings, Yukimura. Might I know where Renji is?" asked Inui.

"Ah, Renji? He didn't come along; his grandmother was sick," I explained.

"I see. Thank you." He walked off, and I headed over to where the only Seigaku member that I would actually consider a friend sat.

"Hello, Syuusuke-kun."

"It's been a while, Seichii-kun," said Syuusuke-kun, smiling at me.

"Mm. So how's Seigaku? And who's this?"

"Seigaku's fine. This is Tsuki-chan."

Shaking hands with the sliver-haired girl, I said, "I'm Yukimura Seichii, Rikkaidai's buchou – Yukimura. Yoroshiku."

She smiled. "Hayashi Tsukiko, but please call me Tsuki. Yoroshiku."

"Mou, Syuusuke-kun, you never said you had a girlfriend," I pouted at my friend.

He chuckled. "She's not mine, Seichii-kun. However, if you can get Oshitari off her, you can have her with my blessing."

Tsuki punched him softly on the upper arm. "Shut up. I'm not yours to give."

Syuusuke-kun and I both laughed, and I addressed him. "Why didn't you get her first?"

Smiling, he said, "I've always thought that friendship's better than courtship."

I hit him lightly. "That may be so, but it's rare that I see girls who don't swoon over you or me."

We smirked simultaneously and she glared at us. "Baka. Don't you have better things to do? And while we are at that, how come you two are on a first-name basis?"

I shrugged. "I suppose you could say we became pretty good friends after the Nationals."

"Right… I'll leave you to catch up with each other. See you." She walked off, stopping to talk to Kikumaru before joining the knot of girls.

Once she was out of earshot, I turned to Syuusuke-kun. "There's something going on, no?"

His eyes flickered open, giving me a rare glimpse of his brilliant sapphire eyes. "You could tell?"

"When you mentioned Oshitari, you didn't sound so happy," I informed him. "So, spill it."

He obeyed, starting from the time when he first met her. I knew that I was privileged to be able to hear about his troubles; normally he kept everything behind his smiling mask, so I listened closely to his story.

… and then just a couple of days ago, that Oshitari was trying to tumble her. I'm not too sure why, but it made me pretty mad. I mean, she's a really good friend and I don't want to see her hurt or anything," he finished. "What do you think, Seiichi-kun?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "It's certainly a rather odd situationn. Now, if she were _your_ girlfriend originally, that would be much easier, but since she wasn't… it complicates things. I take it you're not simply jealous that she now spends more time with him?"

"No, I'm not. I know she needs her own life, and I don't want to hold her back or anything – as you say, she's not my girlfriend, just a very close friend who happens to be female. But the thing is, Oshitari would hurt her without any qualms, and I really don't want that to happen.

I smiled. "You sound as protective of her as you are of your brother."

"Yes, well, I suppose I am. Like I said, she is my _friend_. If there was a girl who could toy with you or Eiji, I'd be protective both of you like this too."

"Hopefully that'd never happen," I replied. "To any of us."

"Mm."

**A/N: Fuji and Yukimura friendship is wonderful… and so are reviews. XD so review and make my day.**

**PS: Rikkaidai was added just for fun. And they have a pretty big significance later… bigger than Hyotei, even. Just shows how badly planned this fic was.**


	19. Oresama's coming up

Chapter 19: Ore-sama's coming up so you better get this party started 

RYOMA

"Yo, Ryo-baby! Christmas omedetou!" called Tsuki-sempai when I came in for breakfast.

"Chez…" I mumbled.

"Now, now, Ryo-baby, don't be so grumpy, it's _Christmas_!!" grinned Fuji-sempai. Seeing that grin made me really wake up.

"…Fuji-sempai, if you're going to torture me please hurry and get it over with…"

"Saa, Ryo-baby, what made you think that we were going to do anything to you? Here you go!" The smiling brunette pushed a thin, flat parcel into my hands. "It's from Tsuki-chan and me. Do try to open it in private."

Tsuki-sempai grinned too. "Enjoy, Ryo-baby. Fuji, let's get going."

"Stop calling me Ryo-baby…" I grumbled as they walked off.

I made sure they were a safe distance off before settling down in a chair a little way away from everyone else. I eyed the slim parcel warily, then thought, I might as well just get it over with. I tore open the wrapping paper.

A carefully laminated photograph and a note were revealed. I glanced at the photo and choked. It was a photo of Buchou and I in a very… compromising position, and I remembered that when the two smiling sadists had caught us, Buchou had confiscated their cameras. So how could they still have been able to get this picture?

I picked up the note that accompanied the photo. It had writing on both sides of it; one side that was written by Fuji-sempai and the other written by Tsuki-sempai.

"Saa, Ryo-baby, Tsuki-chan and I just thought that you would like to have a picture of Tezuka and yourself doing what you love to do. Fuji."

"Christmas omedetou, Ryo-baby. Fuji and I agreed that you ought to know how those photos turned out. Of course, we do still have extras and the negatives. Tsuki."

I suppressed a moan. Dear Kami-sama, what on earth had I done to deserve to be born onto this earth during the same time period as that pair of angelic devils?

FUJI

I zoomed in on Echizen's face and snapped a picture of his shocked expression, smirking. "I think it's a job well done."

Tsuki-chan smirked too. "Agreed. When you develop it send that picture to me."

"Sure." I snapped another picture, this time of his depressed face.

"You know, Fuji, if you keep doing that you are going to have a whole catalogue of his facial expressions."

"That's the point."

"… right."

"Hmm… do you think he'll tell Tezuka what to expect from us?" I mused, keeping an eye out for the said buchou.

"Very likely." We both grinned.

ATOBE

"Arn? Everyone's still lazing around?" I demanded.

"Yes sir, Obbocchama," said the butler.

I scowled. Didn't these people realize that it was already evening? Though evening did come rather fast in Hokkaido… but whatever. I had invited them over especially for a Christmas celebration, and they were simply taking advantage of my generous hospitality.

"Get Ore-sama the PA system. Now," I ordered.

"At once, Obbocchama." He bowed and retreated from my presence.

I waited, tapping my fingers impatiently. Was it just me or were my servants starting to get slower every day?

Finally the butler returned with the required equipment.

"What took you so long?" I asked, displeased.

"A thousand apologies, Obbocchama. One of the maids that this humble servant of yours approached for assistance had an encounter with one of Obbocchama's guests, and was delayed in carrying out the job at hand."

Frowning, I asked, "Did she mention who was the one?"

"No sir, Obbocchama. The PA system is ready for use," added the butler.

I grabbed the microphone. "YUUSHI!! Ten rounds of the whole third floor for accosting Ore-sama's maidservants!"

"Eto, Obbocchama, it was not Oshitari-sama who is at fault. The maid says it was a person whom she did not recognize."

After thinking for a few seconds, I spoke into the microphone again. "Okay, Yuushi, you don't need to do the laps. NIOU MASAHARU, you shall run them in his place."

I heard the vague echoes of an indignant yell. "Ore-sama knows it was you, so no protestations. Run them."

YUKI

Keigo-chan could be _so_ weird at times. He seemed to have forgotten that only the captain of that team could make their members do laps. Still…

"Niou-kun, did you really detain one of the maids?"

"Do you really think that of me, Yagyuu?"

"Yes."

"Whatever. Mura-buchou, do I have to do those laps?"

"Hmm… I think you should; waylaying someone else's maid isn't exactly good manners. But since this is Atobe, let's cut it down to five instead of ten."

"Thanks, Mura-buchou." The silver-haired boy blew a kiss at his pretty captain before heading out of the door.

I felt it was my obligation to apologize on Keigo-chan's behalf, though for what I wasn't so sure. "Gomen, Yukimura-san. Keigo-chan has his moods, so…"

Yukimura smiled at me. "No problem, Koori-chan."

"It's Yukimi, please," I replied, feeling myself flushing slightly under his smile.

"Yuki-chan? But that sounds too much like what my cousin calls me," he replied. "I think I'll stick to Koori-chan, thank you very much."

"Oh, well, it's really up to you," I said, trying not to stammer. He was just too _nice_; it was really disarming.

"Niou was causing trouble again, Yukimura?" Sanada-san came over. "Did you make him do the laps?"

"Ah, Genichirou. Yes, I did make Niou do the laps."

"Good. We can't have him throw his weight around in other people's houses," said Sanada-san, as strict as always.

Yukimura just smiled. "Has Kirihara been demanding Syuusuke-kun for a rematch?"

Sensing that my audience with him was over, I excused myself quietly and went to sit with my girls.

Of course, when they asked why I was pink after talking to Yukimura, I had to think fast to get myself out of the impending teasing.

FUJI

"Kirihara, I really wouldn't mind myself, but Seiichi-kun would be very upset with me if –"

"So you're just scared of Mura-buchou? Don't worry about him; he's got a soft spot for me and I'm sure he wouldn't mind at all –"

"Fuji."

I turned to look at the speaker. "Yes, Tezuka?"

"You _know_ very well that I said no matches unless approved by our hosts," said Tezuka reprovingly.

"Ah, Tezuka-san! Mura-buchou said he wants a match with you too –"

"I know I did, but Tezuka is right; if Atobe doesn't allow it, we don't get any matches," said Seiichi-kun, arriving with Sanada at his back.

"Akaya, stop bothering Fuji, or you can join Niou on his laps." Naturally, that was Sanada.

"Sanada-fukubuchou, why can't we just go and _ask_ for permission from Atobe then?" pouted Kirihara.

Seiichi-kun laughed. "Really, why not? Shall we all go?"

"Go where?" asked Tsuki-chan, coming over.

"Hello, Tsuki-chan. Akaya here wants to have a match against Syuusuke-kun and I want a match against Tezuka," explained Seiichi-kun.

"Oh, I see. What about Sanada-san?" She looked towards the stern Emperor.

"Oh, don't worry about Genichirou; he'll be fine. Atobe will probably want a match with him himself."

Just then, another announcement came blaring over the PA system. "What are you all doing, arn? This _is_ a Christmas party, no? So what's happened to the party?"

"Irritating Monkey King," commented Tsuki-chan.

We heard a loud snapping of fingers; presumably Atobe had snapped into the microphone.

"Ore-sama's coming up, so you puny mortals had better get this party started!"

We all rolled our eyes, either outwardly or inwardly. How cliché could the self-proclaimed diva be?

"Ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na," Tsuki-chan, I, and Seiichi-kun all chorused together with Atobe on the sound system.

**A/N: Well, now the previous blackmail pictures come in… poor Ryo-baby… but he's quite fun to torture, nonetheless. I think the song was called " I'm coming up so you better get this party started"? correct me if I'm wrong.**

**DISCLAIMER: I kind of forgot about disclaimers…. Well, all the disclaimers are on my profile. :D**


	20. Unwanted Revelations

Chapter 20: Unwanted Revelations 

TSUKI

"Oh my gosh… I totally need a rest now; I've been dancing since Atobe started the party," I informed Eiji, with whom I had been dancing.

"Hoi? Okay, let's go sit with Fujiko-chan," suggested Eiji.

When we reached the table, Fuji smiled at both of us. "Had a nice time?"

I snagged a glass of liquid from the tray of a passing maid and took a long, refreshing drink. "Mm, but I do need a rest."

"Maa, you _have_ been dancing since Atobe began the… ball, I suppose you would call it," he remarked, his smile widening slightly.

It was true. Atobe had opened the dancing with me, though why I instead of one of the other girls was anyone's guess. After that, I had been handed through Fuji, Yuushi, Yukimura, Kirihara, Niou, Yagyuu and finally Eiji in various dances. It had been tiring, to say the least.

"What about you, Fuji?" I asked, curious.

"Me? I have been sitting here at the sidelines pining for you to return to me," he replied, face giving me a look of such uncharacteristic seriousness that it just confirmed that he was teasing me.

I kicked him. "Baka, did you think I'd actually fall for that?"

"I live in hope, as the priest said to the princess." His smile was back, and it was almost definitely genuine.

Grinning, I hit him and turned my eyes back to the dance floor. Then I blinked as something caught my attention. "Ne, Fuji. Yuki-chan's dancing… with Yukimura. And it's a _slow waltz_ at that."

YUKI

So I was doing a slow waltz with the beautiful buchou of Rikkaidai, Yukimura Seiichi. Got a problem with it?

Incidentally, I myself had a problem with it. Not _a_ problem, actually. _Quite a few_ problems would describe it better.

He _had_ asked me, and it wouldn't have been exactly polite to refuse, being the host (or rather the host's cousin, but who cared; Atobe would've thought the same). Which was how I had ended up in this somewhat _uncomfortable_ situation.

"Eto… Yukimura-san, why did you ask me for a dance?" I ventured.

His ever-present smile never wavered. "Why not?"

Trying – and failing – to think of a reason, I sighed. "Never mind."

"Mm. Look, Tezuka is dancing."

"Eh? Really?" I craned my neck to peer over his shoulder. "Ah, so he is. And his partner is… oh, Nimiko-chan. Lucky her."

"Why lucky?" inquired Yukimura-san. "You have to admit, Tezuka doesn't have much people skills, though his tennis is top-notch."

I didn't reply, feeling my cheeks heat up and hoping that in the dim lighting it would go unnoticed.

My prayers were unanswered. "Koori-chan, you're blushing," he informed me.

"Oh, really? It must be the heat," I said, smiling brightly if artificially.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? And here I was thinking that Atobe's heating system had broken down."

I had no answer to that.

YUKIMURA

She was almost definitely hitting on Tezuka, I realized.

I frowned slightly. Syuusuke had already told me of his new blackmail material of Tezuka, and also the fact that Tsuki-chan had been his partner in crime. Tsuki-chan and Koori-chan seemed to be close friends, so Tsuki-chan would surely have known of Koori-chan's crush on Tezuka.

So why hadn't she informed her friend of Tezuka's preference for guys? Koori-chan had every right to know, I thought. And if Tsuki-chan wasn't about to tell her, I would.

"Koori-chan, you like Tezuka, don't you?'

She flushed even more and did not answer.

"You'll never get him, you know," I informed her coolly.

Now she looked up at me, dark eyes fiery. "Why would that be? And how would _you_ know?"

There was no other way to say it. "Tezuka has a preference for guys. "There's no way he'd even look at you."

TANO

"That baka," grumbled Niou.

I raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"Fuji Syuusuke."

"And why?"

He shook his head in exasperation. "There he sits, with the most gorgeous creature in shoe leather – saving your magnificent self, of course –"

"Of course," I said, straight-faced.

"In absolute denial of her. I mean, just _look_ at her. She's just too exquisite to ignore – though you are surely more than her equal –"

"Surely," I agreed again, still keeping a poker face.

"And yet he ignores her. Okay, maybe he doesn't really ignore her; from what I see they're both teasing Kikumaru, but they don't flirt, not even playfully. Damn, you know what I mean."

He _had_ put it very well, and it was certainly true. Tsuki-chan was glorious in white and silver that only complimented her naturally pale skin and sliver hair and eyes, and as usual she held herself with casual grace in every movement. Next to her, I personally felt like a drab old aunt beside an ice princess. The other girls probably felt the same. Not that any of us looked bad.

Even so, the fact was that Tsuki-chan really outshone each and every one of us. It was only reasonable that all the guys wanted to dance with her. We had just about resigned ourselves to being wallflowers when first Yagyuu (being the gentleman as usual), then Yukimura, Kawamura, Tezuka and Niou had come over to ask for dances with Aki-chan, Shoko-chan, Yuki-chan, Nimiko-chan and me respectively.

I have to admit Niou's method of asking was amusing. "My lady, would you be so kind as to bestow your beauty upon this humble soul who begs you for a dance?" he had asked, bowing deeply before me.

"I'm no lady, but I don't mind a dance," I had replied, trying to keep myself from laughing.

"May blessings from heaven grace you with their glory," was the reverent answer.

I had looked at him suspiciously. "Who are you and what have you done with Niou, the Petenshi of Rikkaidai?"

"Why, I am he. Should I displease you most gracious highness in any way, please do not hesitate to reprimand, for every word from your wondrous lips is dipped in gold."

I had purposely stepped on his foot at that. "Well, if that's the case, this wonderful lady demands that you stop the act and start behaving normally, because you're starting to freak me out."

He had laughed and asked, "Still, don't you find it funny?"

I indeed had, but did not inform him of this in case he reverted to the weird, stilted manner of speech again. Not being used to such compliments, I was rather unbalanced by them and the fact that Niou was a really hot guy did not help.

Wait. Did I just think he was hot?

FUJI

"I assume everyone has already enjoyed themselves very much indeed," came Atobe's voice, booming over the noise once again thanks to the microphone and the sound system. "This is all thanks to Ore-sama's magnificent organization and great planning. Ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na," he continued. "My prowess shines brighter than light itself."

Tsuki-chan and I both rolled our eyes in mute commiseration at his words.

"Due to Ore-sama's generosity, Ore-sama had decided to indulge everyone to a firework display. Ore-sama recommends the south tower's roof for the best view, and once again, Ore-sama no bigi ni yoi na!"

"He's in serious diva mode," observed Tsuki-chan. "Well, shall we go?"

I shrugged. "I don't believe I have a choice, do I?"

She grinned. "Of course you don't."

As we headed for the south tower, I asked, "So why exactly are you dragging me and not Oshitari? He _is_ your official boyfriend."

"Saa… maybe because I know you better and you're way easier to drag around?" she suggested.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment," I grumbled.

"It isn't," she replied.

"Well, thanks a bunch."

"You're welcome."

I swung at her but sensing it, she ducked and the blow passed over her head.

"Hey, check that out," she said, pointing. Looking in the direction indicated, I saw Tano-chan with Niou's arm around her.

"Hmm… we seem to have a pair of lovebirds already," I observed.

Tsuki-chan laughed. "Who would have thought… our buchou and the Rikkaidai Trickster…"

"Expect the unexpected," I quoted.

"A wonderful phrase, dear philosopher."

"It _is_ nice to be appreciated."

We had reached the glass observatory on the roof of the south tower. "Right, so shall we just enjoy the fireworks in peace and quiet?" asked Tsuki-chan.

"I would if I could, but peace and quiet are in short supply at the moment," I replied.

It was certainly true. As with every time we all gathered together in a confined space, there was a loud row going on.

"This place is too small."

"Sit on Yuushi's lap then, Gakuto."

"Shut up Shishido; why don't _you_ sit on Choutarou's?"

"I wasn't the one who said that this place is too small… though actually it is…"

"Arn? Do you have a problem with Ore-sama's provisions?"

"Plenty… but you don't really need to know."

"If you have nothing better to say, don't say anything, Yuushi."

"Whoa, look, Atobe's actually gotten a brain! I wonder whose he stole…"

"An insult is simply a fart with consonants. Ore-sama does not hear farts."

"ATOBE IS AN ASS!!!"

"Atobe, please try to control your teammates."

"Ore-sama would gladly do so – if Ore-sama wished to clack his teeth in a supremely useless exercise."

…"I see."

"Talking about it, where is Ore-sama's cousin?"

"Ah, she went to the washrooms, Atobe. I think she wants to have a private breakdown."

"Yukimura?! How do you know that?"

"Well, she _was_ crying when she ran off… No idea why, though…"

"What's this? Yuki-chan is having an emotional breakdown in the toilets?"

"Oh, hello Niou. Made friends with Tano-san already I see."

"I suppose you could say that, Mura-buchou."

_BANG_

"Saa… the fireworks finally make their presence felt…" I commented.

Unfortunately, instead of colorful sprays of light going off against the night sky, an ominous red glow shone from below us. What was going on?

**A/N: I personally love the line "Ore-sama would gladly do so – if Ore-sama wished to clack his teeth in a supremely useless exercise." Reviews are loved as much as that line.**

**PS: I hope that didn't sound too cliché.**

**PPS: I credit Tamora Pierce's series 'The Protector of the Small' for a number of the lines used in this chapter… if you haven't read her books, I strongly encourage it.**

**PPPS: It seems that I'm leaving you on a cliffie… ahwells. Till next time, then.**

**PPPPS: I really have too many PSs. O.o**


	21. Thoughts in the Fire

Chapter 21: Thoughts in the Fire 

ATOBE

"Evacuate. Immediately," I ordered.

That bang, incidentally, had _not_ been the fireworks going off. Well, they _were_, but not in the expected way. Somehow, instead of going up into the sky, they had started a _fire_. A _fire_!! In the grounds of my own mansion!! It was unspeakable!! It was a slap in the face of my hospitality!!

Just as well I had ordered the fireworks to be staged in the southern grounds, not the northern. Anything that might be burned would not have such great importance; the best, most expensively decorated rooms – which included the guest rooms – were located in the north wing of my mansion, a safe distance away from the fire.

However, right now my main concern was Yuki-chan. I had not seen her when we had evacuated the south wing, and truth to be told, I was getting rather worried about her.

"Yukimura, did she say _where_ she was going at all?" I addressed Yukimura.

"Hmm… no, she didn't say a word – she just upped and ran. I just assumed that she wanted to go to the toilets; I believe most girls do when they have emotional breakdowns. And she certainly looked like she was having one."

"Saa, Seiichi-kun, since when were you so knowledgeable about emotional breakdowns? Been turning down a lot of proposals lately?" teased Fuji.

"Well, what if I have? And you can't say that_ you_ haven't; if so then the Seigaku girls have gotten a lot more shy than before," laughed the beautiful captain.

I would have ground my teeth in frustration if it were not such an uncouth mannerism. Here I was, all worried – _worried_! – about my cousin, and they were laughing about the number of girls they had turned down?!

Looking around, I spotted a maidservant unlucky enough to have been in my field of vision. "Oi! You there!"

"H-hai, Obbocchama!" She hurried over and curtseyed deeply.

"Go and comb the girls toilets in the south wing. Get your friends to assist you if you need it. Ore-sama believes that his cousin is still trapped there."

She gasped, clasping her hands at her mouth. "A-ah! I will go and look for her immediately!" With that, she scurried off.

YUKIMURA

I wrestled with common sense – to stay with the rest and just wait for the maid to find Koori-chan – and my innate sense of duty – to follow her and help look for Koori-chan.

On one hand, I didn't really owe her anything, plus going into the dangerous south wing was not especially good for one's health. On the other, I was the cause of her breakdown, whether direct or indirect.

It was a close fight, but in the end duty won. I quickly excused myself from Syuusuke-kun and Atobe and ran after the maid into the south wing.

FUJI

"Seiichi-kun?" I called after my friend.

"I'll be right back," was the fading reply.

I stared after his retreating back. This was strange; Seiichi-kun usually observed such things in a detached manner, keeping a distance from them. The only way he would involve himself was if he felt he was responsible in some way. But there was no way that he would be responsible for Yuki-chan's breakdown… right?

YUKI

Yukimura Seiichi. The harbinger of evil. The beautiful malevolence.

Why? Why had he told me? Why had he wanted to hurt me so badly? Weren't there kinder ways to break the truth to me? Couldn't he have left me in my pleasant dreamworld, away from the horrors of reality?

And yet, why couldn't I be angry with him?

Somewhere far away, I heard a loud bang, followed by yells and screams. I dismissed them as unimportant. They were probably just enjoying the fireworks that Keigo-chan had announced not so long ago.

I returned to my musings. Why was I unable to feel anger towards him? Was he not the one who had broken me? Was he not the one who had taken my hopes and fears and crushed them beneath his heel?

Figuratively speaking, it was as if Yukimura – that devil in disguise – had taken my mental image of Tezuka and torn it to shreds. What was left?

I was wrapped so deeply in thought that I never noticed the slow but steadily rising temperature of the surroundings. Only when the threatening reddish glow on the walls appear did I realize what was really happening.

Fire.

It was beginning to flood even the toilets, burning everything remotely combustible, such as the toilet paper. I blinked, brain still sluggishly trying to register what I saw. Brilliant orange tongues licked at me, and I felt the burn.

So. I was trapped in a fire. What should I do now? Where was everyone? Did no one know I was still here? Stretching my hearing as far as I could, I listened for the presence of another human being in my vicinity as if my life depended on it. Which, of course, it did.

More flames erupted around me, reaching hungrily towards me. I shivered slightly, but my brain and my senses were so completely numbed that I did not feel anything at all.

No fear that I would die. No anger that no one had even tried to find me. No pain of betrayal. Nothing.

"I think, therefore I am." I thought nothing. Therefore, I was nothing.

Numbly, I waited.

YUKIMURA

"Koori-chan?" I called. Glancing at the maid, I said, "This _is_ where the toilets are, right?"

"H-hai, sir, it is," she replied, blushing. I ignored it.

I spotted a door that was lit with flames. "Would _that_ happen to be the toilets?"

"Eto, I believe so, sir – "

Before she could finish, I was already making for the door. "Thanks. You can go back now, if you want."

"But sir, its dangerous!"

Ignoring her, I strode straight into the raging inferno. "Koori-chan, come out."

"_Stupid_!!" screamed my sensible side. "Why are you risking your life and your looks for a girl?"

"It's my fault she's here," retorted my callously, rigidly responsible side.

"But she's not _worth_ the trouble. You're going to get burns; that'll make your looks go down," the self-centered side reminded me.

"Yes, but it's still my fault that she's here, and I ought to at least _try_ to do something about it." My responsible side was still hanging on to its resolution.

"… Yukimura…" came a whisper from somewhere inside the crazily, hellishly orange environment.

"Koori-chan?" I peered through the flames, eyes watering from the smoke.

"… you came… I hoped for someone… anyone…"

Dodging the long, flickering tongues of fire, I made my way towards her. She was leaning against a wall, surprisingly calm despite the fact that the hem of her skirt was ablaze. Dark eyes, flat and blank, met mine.

"Why?" she asked, simply.

As I beat out the flames on her skirt, I suddenly looked up at her and smiled. "Call it a whim."

**A/N: Angst… And not the main pairing… but yeah. Review!**


	22. Snow Ritual

Chapter 22: Snow Ritual 

TSUKI

All of us had spent the entire day the next day indoors due to the thick blizzard that poured down outside. Of course, with all that insanity cooped up, there was bound to be trouble.

Escaping the noisy rooms where almost everyone else was congregated, I glanced out of the window of the main lounge. It being winter, the sun was already sinking low on the horizon, though it was only mid-afternoon and the tennis games had just finished. The blizzard that had kept us indoors had finally ended, and the whole outdoors was coated with sparkling white snow. Perfect. It was almost time…

Deep in thought, I never realized that I had company until the familiar Kansai-ben voice spoke. "Admiring the scenery?"

"No… but it _is_ nice."

"Well, you shouldn't enjoy it alone. Plus, you look cold," Yuushi purred, sliding his arms around me.

I shivered slightly, and not from the cold. Turning, I let him press his mouth against mine in a kiss that spread warmth throughout my entire body.

IMAI

"Hey, Yuki-sempai, look at Tsuki-chan and Yuushi-kun." I pointed the pair out.

"How sweet…" she drawled. "All lovey-dovey in the middle of winter. Maybe we should tell them to get a room."

I gave her an odd look. Even though I knew Yuki-sempai could be rather evil when she wanted to be, it wasn't very like her to make fun of couples, particularly seeing as she worshipped Tezuka-san and we all knew it. She had been acting a bit peculiar since the night before when she had had to be rescued from the fire by Yukimura-san. In the first place, normally it would be _Yuki-_sempai who was dashing around rescuing people, not the other way around. That in itself was uncanny. Also, the way she seemed to be avoiding Yukimura – though it wasn't as if Yukimura-san was going out of his way to talk to her – and not sneak around to look at Tezuka-san just added to the strangeness of it all.

On top of it all, she wasn't telling anyone anything. Which meant it was a mystery. Lovely. Unraveling mysteries was one of my hobbies. The best person to ask about this, I decided after some deliberation, was Yukimura-san. I went in search for him and after some time found him outside his room.

"Yukimura-san, could I ask you something?"

"Hello, eto…"

"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself. I am Imai Akiya."

"Okay. So, Imai-chan, what did you want to ask?"

"Well… Yuki-chan has been rather odd today. If I remember correctly, she had an emotional breakdown and ran to the bathrooms during her dance with you."

"That's true."

"Would you be so kind as to enlighten me as to why she broke down?" I got into information-absorb mode.

"Hmm… I suppose it was something like –"

"Ne, Seiichi-kun, have you seen Tsuki-chan?" Fuji-sempai asked, appearing as if out of nowhere.

Yukimura-san blinked in surprise at his sudden appearance. "No, I haven't. Wasn't she downstairs with everyone else?"

Fuji-sempai looked at me. "Imai-chan, have you seen her?"

"The last I saw of her, she was cuddling Oshitari-san in front of the windows of the main lounge," I replied.

Both boys winced. "Anyway," continued Fuji-sempai, "I just went to the main lounge, and I didn't see either of them. Do you have any idea of what might have happened?"

"Maybe they got a room," suggested Yukimura-san, his normally soft indigo eyes glinting evilly.

Fuji-sempai winced again. "Right."

"Well, there is a 70 chance that they _did_ get a room," I said helpfully.

"… thanks, I think…"

"Wait a moment…" I thought hard. "I believe Tsuki-chan was saying that it's really nice outdoors now that the blizzard's over. Maybe she went out…?"

Fuji-kun looked surprised. "Why didn't I think of that? Thanks, Imai-chan, you've been really helpful. Sorry for interrupting your conversation with Seiichi-kun."

Yukimura laughed. "No problem, Syuusuke-kun. Just go look for her."

"That's what I'm doing." He hastened off. I doubt if he stopped to put on the serious warm wear required in this kind of weather.

"Whoa, Syuusuke-kun's worried about his girl," commented Yukimura.

"I thought they're just friends?"

"So they say. You never know… Oh, Sanada! Is something wrong?"

The Rikkai fukubuchou seemed to be at the end of his tether. "I think we require your presence downstairs…"

"What happened?" asked Yukimura.

"Food fight."

"I'm coming. Sorry, Imai-chan, but duty calls…" He hurried off, and I sighed. It seemed I would have to interrogate him some other time.

FUJI

It took a while, but I found her in the end, some time after the sun had set. Of course, I did have the brilliance of the moon and the phosphorescence of the snow as light.

She was at the eastern edge of the grounds, seated on a stone bench under a barren tree. Her clothes comprised of only a pure white shift dress and an inky black stole, which in combination with her silver hair and pale skin made her blend in with the white snow, black trees and the various shades of grey of the shadows that made up the greyscale landscape of winter. Sitting in the lotus position with her hands forming a perfect circle in her lap, her hair fluttering slightly in the cold breeze, her body completely still, she was tranquility made flesh, the true child of the moon.

This was too good an opportunity. I silently slid my mini camera out of my pocket; I had been carrying it everywhere with me throughout our holiday, since I never knew when I could get good blackmail or simple documentation of events and memories. Carefully, I positioned myself with an eye for the light, shadow and angle, then, turning off the flash, I noiselessly snapped off a number of pictures. She never moved once, even though I had a hunch that she knew I was there. Perhaps she did, and let me take them anyway; as far as I knew, she wasn't camera-shy.

My hunch was correct. Once I had taken a satisfactory amount of photos, she spoke. "Fuji, asking permission of your model is only polite."

I stepped out of hiding. "True, but I didn't want to disturb you. It would've ruined the atmosphere."

"You're the photographer; you should know." Tsuki-chan, still with her eyes closed, patted the bench. "Have a seat."

"Thanks." I sat down next to her. Silence stretched for a time, both of us just enjoying the scenery and the peace away from the others back in the mansion.

After a while, though, curiosity got the better of me. "Saa, Tsuki-chan…"

"Mm?"

"Why exactly are you out here?"

She didn't answer for a long moment. I waited.

"Do you remember that today is my birthday?" she said at last.

"Yes; you told me a couple of days ago."

"Well…" She took a deep breath. "This is sort of… an annual ritual that I do, every year on my birthday. I come out here and just… reflect about events that happened since my last birthday."

"I see…"

"You must think I'm weird..." She opened her eyes at last, glancing my way.

"No; it's a perfectly reasonable practice and I've got nothing against it," I replied.

"Right…"

TSUKI

"So… what are you thinking about, then?" he asked.

I blinked. "Why do you want to know?"

"Saa… I just thought it might be interesting…"

"You just want me to say something about Yuushi, don't you?" I asked, half-joking. "But seriously, do you want to know?"

He didn't reply, but I smiled slightly. "I do like him a lot. He's a lot more interesting than the guys who wanted to date me, back in Kyoto."

"You… love him?"

"I suppose you could say that…"

Time passed, slow yet fast; it seemed elastic, the moon was suspended overhead, unmoving, unchanging. The warmth beside me was strangely comforting, if unfamiliar; always before, when I carried out my ritual, I was alone. But somehow, he didn't intrude – it was as if he was simply doing the same thing as I was, thinking in solitude.

Suddenly, though, he broke the perfectly still silence. "Tsuki-chan, do you ever think about being a tensai?"

Throughout this entire time, we had never once looked at each other. We hadn't been having a real conversation, so looking was not required, resulting our long scrutiny of the mountains and the snow. It had been somehow more comfortable that way.

Now I glanced his way. He wasn't looking at me; he stared into the distance at nothing in particular, hugging his knees to his chest as if to conserve body heat. He looked almost sad… his gorgeous eyes were open, and they were unusually soft; the sadistic glint that normally lit them was replaced by the reflection of the radiance of the moon above. His soft brown hair moved gently in the zephyr.

Even I could find him beautiful at times.

I mentally shook myself. He was my friend. Our friendship was stronger than any other… sentiment. I turned my mind to his question.

"Actually, yes. That is one thing I think about every year; it never changes."

He nodded, not answering.

"Ne, Fuji… When were you named a tensai?"

For a few seconds there was silence. Then he said, "When I was six years old – during the first year of elementary school. What about you?"

"I was eight." Glancing at him, I now realized why I had always had the impression that he was hiding behind thick walls of ice.

He could not remember what it was like _not_ to be a tensai.

"Tensai… it's really not much fun, ne."

Our eyes met, silver with sapphire. He knew. And I knew he knew.

Rejection. Pain. Scorn, even. Façades that hid our true selves from those who tried to know us, because we were too scared after enduring the stonewalling responses of others. The shunning from some family and friends; they thought we thought we were too good for them. The way nobody ever understood us enough to say it as if they meant it.

We were talented, but sometimes talent wasn't good enough. We were beautiful, still people eschewed us. We were constantly surrounded by others, yet were always alone. We worked hard, but nonetheless the hard work was disregarded.

Blood, sweat and tears were shed as we struggled to harness ourselves. Hours at night wrestling with one concept that just would not sink in, but we forced it to because we were too proud to admit defeat. Days of lingering hurt after finding that certain people we had counted on as friends were avoiding us. Weeks of secret experimentation as we tried out new, theoretical moves. Months of practice in the shadows to master the real, practical usage of the moves. Years of silently building barriers, behind which we locked our emotions when they grew too painful to bear.

FUJI

The silence spoke volumes. I was stunned by the complete understanding I read in her eyes. Someone had reached through the barriers that I had surrounded myself with; that I had spent years building.

In the end, it was I who broke the gaze first.

Memory suddenly stirred. In my mind's eye, I saw her teasing Eiji, stalking Tezuka for blackmail with me, laughing with her friends, chatting with my siblings, racing against me to see who could finish an assignment first, sitting here perfectly still while the wind blew drifts of snow around and the moonbeams reflected from her silver hair. I saw the ever-changing shades of her eyes, glowing in happiness or sadism then darkening in sorrow, hardening in anger and softening in compassion. I saw the complete understanding, the way she always seemed to know what I was thinking.

No. I did not want this. _Emotions are for the weak_, whispered a voice in my head that sounded strangely like Echizen. _Don't let your guard down_, added another voice that was definitely Tezuka's. I feared this, yet I was excited, exhilarated by this.

It was too late already.

YUKIMURA

"Those two have been gone for ages," I mused, glancing at the clock. It was almost eleven; Fuji had left around four.

"Yukimura-san?" came a voice from outside my room. Opening the door, I saw Koori-chan with Tano-chan.

I smiled at them. "Hello, Koori-chan, Tano-chan."

Koori-chan blushed slightly. "Eto, Yukimura-san, I was wondering if you'd seen Fuji-kun or Tsuki-chan. They're nowhere to be found, and I'm getting rather worried."

"Well, I think they're outside somewhere in the grounds," I replied. "That's where Syuusuke went to look for Tsuki-chan, and I haven't seen either of them since."

"Oh! I must send someone to go look for them – " began Koori-chan, but her captain stopped her.

"It's too late already today, Yuki-chan. Most of the servants would be asleep by now; it's deep winter, in case you forgot."

"But I _am_ their mistress," pouted Koori-chan.

"You're just being difficult, Yuki-chan. Quit complaining. Those two can take care of themselves; if they aren't back by sunrise tomorrow, then send out your servants to look for them, and not any time before that." Tano-chan certainly wasn't standing for any nonsense.

"Fine. Be that way." Koori-chan flounced off.

Tano-chan sighed. "She's been really weird today… she doesn't usually have little-lady tantrums or order us to do strange things," she said.

"Maa, the fire last night must have been pretty traumatizing," I reminded her.

"Not one word out of her on that subject at all." Tano-chan heaved another sigh. "Maybe I'll have to start investing in aspirins like Tezuka-san – now I get an idea of what he usually feels like, with Eiji-kun on his team."

I laughed. "Rikkaidai isn't all that sane either. Especially with Niou and Akaya around. Really, I'm amazed that you can keep up with Niou."

"I'm amazed at myself too. It's a challenge, cer-tain-ly."

The subject of our conversation suddenly stepped out from the room on my right. "Why, my lady, I'm hurt. Really, I am," Niou mourned, pressing a hand to his heart.

Grinning, I left the two of them together and retreated back into my room.

TSUKI

Deep in meditation, I distantly felt a sudden sharp cold. Had my stole blown off? Slowly, I surfaced, allowing my senses attune themselves to the real world again. As I opened my eyes, I saw the aurora of the false dawn glowing in the skyline.

My stole was intact. So why was I cold? Turning my head I saw Fuji shivering slightly, usually pale skin darker with the flush of fever.

"… Fuji?"

Had I felt his cold? No, that was impossible. It had to be.

Seeing that I was… awake, he smiled at me, shutting his eyes in the process. "Daijoubu, Tsuki-chan. Don't let me disturb you." He coughed. _Coughed_.

Eiji had told me that Fuji never got sick. He was able to stomach almost all of Inui's fatal juices and he lived to eat wasabi sushi. His immunity was phenomenal; in all the time Eiji had known him, he had never been sick once. So how could he be _coughing_ after one night in the cold? Should we go back now and get him checked?

As if in answer to my question, another cough racked his body, causing his eyes to water slightly. That made up my mind. "Come on, Fuji. We need to get you back. You're sick." Standing up on legs wobbly from having been locked in one position for much too long, I tugged his to his feet.

"Sick…?" he repeated, as if the idea was completely foreign to him. Which, of course, it probably was.

"Yes, sick."

"But…" His eyes flicked open. "I'm never sick." He coughed again.

"Well, now you are." Meeting his eyes, I confirmed my diagnosis. The normally bright, piercing cerulean was now glazed and dull, like an old, scratched sapphire.

"Let's go."

Slowly, because we had both spent the night in one single position and our muscles were telling us exactly how they felt about such treatment, we dragged ourselves back to the mansion.

FUJI

It took us a long time to reach the mansion, but we made it. Barely.

I still couldn't quite reconcile myself to the fact that I was sick. After all, I hadn't been sick since I was five years old. The scratchy feeling in my chest and the sluggish fuzziness of my brain was completely unfamiliar.

However, I did notice that Tsuki-chan didn't appear to be in much better condition, though she was probably just tired, as temperatures never seemed to bother her. She still managed to pull herself together and give a few orders to a passing maidservant – I didn't register what was said, but instead of going up the stairs to our rooms, Tsuki-chan followed the maid down a passageway. After a going through a couple of doors and turning a few times, we arrived in a place that seemed vaguely familiar to me – the music room.

There was a sofa and a chaise lounge at the sides, with a piano in the middle of the large room and wooden cabinets set in the walls, some with glass fronts to show what instruments they held; the other, wood-fronted cabinets presumably kept the music for them. It was a nice, neat room, but I didn't stay conscious to enjoy it for long – I collapsed almost immediately on the chaise lounge (it was closer than the sofa), and the last I remember was Tsuki-chan telling the maid to bring blankets and to notify Yuki-chan that we had come back.

**A/N: My longest chapter, I think… Poor Fujiko-chan… T.T ah wells. Reviews make me high and encourage me to update more. Not that I don't update much, but yeah.**** XD**


	23. Hallucination

Chapter 23: Hallucinating makes the impossible possible 

TANO

"What?!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, you heard it," said Yuki-chan, already bustling off.

I facepalmed. They had in the end spent the night out together… Who knew what might have happened? For all their assertion that they were nothing more than friends, there was still the immovable fact that they were of different sexes.

"Don't think about it, don't think about it," I chanted under my breath as I made my way to the music room, where the pair apparently were sleeping, having been too tired to make their way upstairs to their respective rooms. Just as I rounded the corner, I saw a familiar figure in front of the door to the music room. "Yukimura-kun?"

Turning around, he smiled at me. "Hello, Tano-chan. Koori-chan told you?"

I nodded. "I was pretty worried."

"Don't worry; Syuusuke-kun wouldn't have taken advantage of her."

"I wasn't thinking on those lines!" I protested, blushing.

He laughed. "Niou will have fun with you, cer-tain-ly."

I pretended to punch him. "Get your head out of the gutter, please."

At that moment, Yagyuu and Niou arrived. The former kept his unmoving poker face; the latter gave me a heart-melting look.

"Mou, deserting me for the pretty Mura-buchou?"

"Since when was I yours anyway?"

"Mura-buchou, can't you stick with Koori-chan and leave Hikari-chan for me?"

"I really don't remember giving you permission to call me _Hikari-chan_, Niou."

"I don't remember requiring permission either, _Hikari-chan_."

I threw up my hands in defeat. Very few people could win against Niou in a talkback contest, and I sadly I wasn't one of their number.

Yukimura's lips twitched as he tried to control his laughter. "All right, you two, hush up. I'm going in. If you want to come, be quiet about it." With that, he pushed open the door and peered around it before walking in. We all followed.

Two slim figures lay sprawled on the sofa and the chaise lounge in the room; one with long silver hair and the other with shorter soft brown hair. Both were wrapped in blankets and breathing slowly but regularly. Glancing at their faces, I caught my breath. Did either of them realize just how beautifully innocent they looked when they were asleep?

YUKIMURA

I made my way over to Syuusuke-kun. Even if I had not been told, I could tell that he was sick. His normally pale skin was flushed; his breath rattled in his chest. He shifted restlessly under the blankets, muttering unintelligibly in his sleep.

Touching my hand to his forehead, I almost immediately jerked back. "He's burning up," I said in a low voice.

Tano-chan sighed; the other two frowned. "What about the girl?" asked Niou.

Tano-chan rested a hand on her teammates' forehead. "She's fine. But maybe she should be checked just in case. Oh!"

"What – " began Niou, striding forward.

"I'm awake; I'm awake now," muttered Tsuki-chan. "And no I'm not sick, so just get someone to see to Fuji."

"Tsuki-chan? What happened? Why were you out all night?" Tano-chan bombarded the other girl with questions.

Tsuki-chan groaned. "Nothing happened. Just let me sleep, will you?"

"But – " Niou put a hand on Tano-chan's shoulder, preventing her from saying any more.

"Let's go," I said.

Yagyuu nodded. "Let them sleep. It's only polite."

YUKI

"Gosh, why did he have to get sick while under my care?" I grumbled. "Why couldn't he get sick _after_ we got back to Tokyo?"

"Yuki-chan," reprimanded Tano-buchou. "He didn't get sick on purpose."

"Well, it's Fuji-kun. He might have, just to make things difficult."

"You never had anything against them before," was the mild reminder.

"Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything."

"I think you and Yukimura need to have a talk, Yuki-chan. Something happened between you two, and now you're having mood swings and a terrible attitude," she informed me, heading for the door.

"I don't want anything to do with that – that – ARGH!!" I yelled at her retreating back.

"She's right, you know," commented Aki-chan, appearing as if from nowhere.

I glared at her. "You're not helping."

She shrugged. "Whatever. There _is_ a 90 chance that Yukimura-san said something about Tezuka that made you freak out."

"Shut up and go away. I don't want to hear people talking percentages to me right now."

"You don't want to hear _anything_ right now. But since I am a kind soul –" I coughed loudly, but she ignored me " – I shall tell you what I have deduced so far. Inui-sempai has informed me that Tezuka-sempai has a preference for males. I believe that it was Fuji-sempai who supplied him with this information. As Fuji-sempai and Yukimura-san are close friends, I conclude that Yukimura-san also knew of this and chose to tell you of it," said Aki-chan. "Since you have been a devoted fan of Tezuka-sempai's for years, you did not take it well."

If looks could kill, she would have been dead before she had finished her third sentence, but unfortunately for me looks _can't_ kill.

"Is that all, Aki-chan?" I asked, my voice poisonously sweet.

"No; there's quite a bit more. There is a very high chance that Yukimura-san may like you, and was jealous of Tezuka-sempai. This made him want to break the news to you, then later rescue you from the fire. Plus, you seem to have trouble getting angry towards Yukimura-san, which leads me to believe that you may regard him with more –OW!" I stopped her monologue with a sharp slap to her face.

"Aki-chan, when I say shut up, I _mean_ SHUT YOUR (BEEP) MOUTH UP!!!" I shouted. "Now GET OUT!!"

Wordlessly, my kouhai obeyed.

I sank back into my chair, wondering what on earth was wrong with me. I had _never_ intentionally hurt someone else, at least not physically, and much less one of my kouhais, and I _never_ swore. Pressing my hands to my cheeks, I wondered whether all of what Aki-chan had said was true.

I couldn't possibly have fallen for Yukimura Seiichi…

TSUKI

"How about we just put him in his room?" I suggested.

"But then all his things will get the germs and we'll have to dry-clean them or something…"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh yeah right they will. Oishi, just put him in his room! The doctors and nurses and all can see him in there perfectly well. And since it's a single bedroom nobody else would catch the germs."

"Well, I suppose you know him best…" the fukubuchou said doubtfully.

"Yes, I do. Go get Tezuka to help or find Yuki-chan to get her servants. I'll wake him up. Go on." I shooed him out of the room and returned to Fuji.

"Ne, Fuji, can you wake up?" I shook him gently.

His eyes flew open. "Saki! No! I'll stop, please, I really will, just –" Eyes closing again, he whispered, "Just don't hurt Yuuta…"

I shook my head. This was bad. He was already hallucinating; the fever was probably frying his brains already. Why he was so sick was really beyond me. Considering his legendary immune system, even a full night out in winter shouldn't have affected him this badly. Instead of trying again, I decided to let him sleep.

Oishi arrived back with Tezuka, Yukimura, Sanada, Tano and Yuki-chan. The last was talking furiously into her cell phone. "What?! The family doctor's on leave?!! And why wasn't I informed of this?! Don't give me that –"

Yukimura said something to Sanada behind the loud admonishment that Yuki-chan was giving the person on the other end of the line. Sanada nodded and came over to Fuji and me. Tezuka followed him.

Moving out of the way, I watched them as they picked up his slender form, blankets and all. "Eto… Sanada-kun, Tezuka-kun, try not to wake him up. He might get… violent."

Both gave me odd looks. Obviously they couldn't believe that the smaller boy who was literally hanging in their hold burning with fever could possibly physically hurt them. But I knew that if he was woken up and he was hallucinating, the impossible was possible.

I was proven correct. Just as they were making their slow way out of the door, Fuji gave a sudden convulsion, wrenching out of Tezuka's hold and landing on the ground. His eyes were wide and unseeing as he moaned incoherently. "No… please… don't…"

Yukimura knelt beside his friend. "It's okay, Syuusuke-kun, everything's all right…"

Fuji turned towards the voice. "…Yumiko-nee-chan…?" Then once again he slid back into unconsciousness, lolling against Sanada's knees.

Yukimura sighed. "Sanada, let's move. With luck we can get him upstairs without waking him up again."

YUKIMURA

I was really worried for him. When Koori-chan had finally located a doctor, he diagnosed Syuusuke-kun with pneumonia. I should have realized; when Syuusuke-kun did anything, it was bound to be either dramatic or subtle, almost always at either end of the spectrum and rarely in between.

It seemed that I wasn't the only one who was concerned about Syuusuke-kun. Tsuki-chan, like me, had spent almost the whole day with him, and his teammates, particularly Kikumaru and Oishi, dropped in regularly to check on his condition. Even Oshitari came by with most of Hyotei. Koori-chan arrived to keep her friend company, but left in a hurry when she saw that I was there.

I really couldn't blame her for avoiding me. I had after all destroyed her idol. But even considering that, she did seem to be taking things rather too far. Still, I decided to let her decide for herself and turned my mind to other things, like chatting with the other visitors and keeping an eye on Tsuki-chan as well as Syuusuke-kun.

Tsuki-chan wasn't frazzled with worry; on the contrary, she seemed to be taking it very calmly. She knotted a friendship bracelet with the twin sisters on her team, played chess against Niou (and won, which really pissed him off), teased Kikumaru and Echizen, conversed with Yagyuu and Sanada (which in itself was an accomplishment, considering them), put up with Akaya's antics, and talked books with Ootori, who was probably the only sane member of Hyotei.

But at a rare moment when there was nobody else in the room and I had just returned from calming Akaya after Niou had driven him up the wall (in more ways than one), when I walked into the room and saw what looked suspiciously like tears in her eyes.

"Tsuki-chan? Are you okay?"

Blinking away the wetness, she smiled at me. "Nothing's wrong, Yukimura-kun. What were you thinking?"

I decided to keep my thoughts to myself. For now, at least.

YUKI

I clenched my fists in frustration at myself. Geez, why did I get so pissed off when I saw Yukimura talking to Tsuki-chan? After all, it wasn't like I was in love with him. Even if I was, there was no way he would return my feeling.

Then I remembered the way he had come to find me, that night – was it only less than two days ago? – when I had been trapped in the fire. Why had he come? He had no obligation to me. I wished I could confront him about it, yet every time I had the opportunity to, I found myself hurrying from his presence, afraid to stay, afraid of what I might learn.

I really hated being afraid.

"You know you have unfinished business with him. Just talk to him. He's really nice, he won't eat you up," a familiar voice spoke.

"Tano-buchou… what are you doing here?"

She smiled. "Helping you think. And I just thought I ought to remind you that it's almost time for dinner. You _are_ coming, ne?"

I glared at her. "Whatever. And yes, I _am_ coming."

"And I hope that you get things in the open before it's time for bed. I'm pretty sure he's simply waiting for you to explain yourself, just as you are waiting for _him_ to explain himself. A little explanation goes a long way, Yuki-chan." She began to walk away. "You might find out some unexpected things too, you know."

I watched as Niou-san detained her just as she reached the staircase; heard their laughter as they exchanged words too soft to reach me.

If Tano Hikari, the virginal, never-had-a-boyfriend Tano-buchou, could have caught such a guy – and not just any guy, but the to-die-for Petenshi of Rikkaidai – so easily, well, I wasn't going to lose to her. Not if my pride was on the line.

**A/N: Lalala… I personally thought the YukixYuki pair was cute. Not just because of their names. XD**

**PS: If anyone sees weird things like 'relatSaiyanship' or 'buHayashi', I really apologize for not checking through. See, I had different names for the characters before… don't ask. Just don't'. Reallly.**


	24. Weight and Density

Chapter 24: Weight and Density 

TANO

"Ne, Niou…"

"It's Masaharu."

"Right… anyway, how do you get two shy people to admit they like each other?"

"You mean Mura-buchou and Yuki-chan?"

"Yup, them. Any ideas?"

"Well… I always liked the traditional 'stuff them into the closet together' idea… and we could modify it for our needs…"

"Whatever, can we carry it out tonight?"

"D'oy! Who do you take me for? I _am_ the Petenshi of Rikkaidai!"

"Yes, I know all too well…"

YUKI

"Yuki-sempai, we need some help here!" called Shinjutsu-chan. "Can you get the bandages for Himitsu?"

I turned in surprise. Dinner had just ended, and still I hadn't said a thing to Yukimura. I was getting rather irritated at myself, but at the sight of the blood drooling from Himitsu's leg I immediately forgot about it.

"Hang in there, okay, Himitsu!" I raced for the medicine closet. Then surprised, I asked, "Wait, why is the broom cupboard open?"

I felt a sharp push in the small of my back and lost my balance, falling straight into the all too conveniently open broom cupboard. The door slammed shut on me and I heard the click of a lock.

"NIOU!!! YOU BAKA!!!" I yelled, throwing myself against the door. It didn't budge an inch; like everything else in my house it was of good quality. Unfortunately when the house was furnished we had never thought that the cupboards might be put to such a use.

IMAI

I listened with pleasure to the banging from inside the cupboard. "Good work, Niou-san."

He smirked. "Of course. It _is_ my plan."

"If you say so. What next?"

"Now to lure the pretty Mura-buchou here. It shouldn't be too difficult…" He walked off, leaving me with the twins.

"It's amazing how ketchup resembles blood when mixed with a little water," I mused aloud, watching Shinjutsu help her sister wash the said mixture off her leg.

"Well, it's still pretty disgusting…" commented Himitsu.

"All for a good cause, lil' sistah," replied Shinjutsu. "It's for Yuki-sempai, no?"

"LET – ME – OUT!!" screamed the cupboard.

"No can do, Yuki-sempai. Niou-san and Tano-buchou said so. Try not to scream so much; you'll do permanent damage to your throat. But you _are_ free to try to break down the door," I informed my fukubuchou.

"That's helpful, Aki-chan, _really_ helpful," Yuki-sempai bit back. "Whose side are _you_ on anyway? Mine or the freaky I've-got-a-hot-BF-so-I-know-way-more-than-you-and-so-you-have-to-listen-to-whatever-I-say Tano-buchou?"

"The freaky I've-got-a-hot-BF-so-I-know-way-more-than-you-and-so-you-have-to-listen-to-whatever-I-say Tano-buchou or the equally freaky I-don't-have-a-BF-and-I-just-found-out-that-my-idol-is-gay-which-is-why-I'm-on-constant-PMS Yuki-fukubuchou? Saa, ne…"

"Shaddup, willya! There are other people listening!"

"Oh, them? They know already, so there's no ground for your argument. How about you just admit that what I said was true?"

"You little –!"

I smiled. Things were going very well, and my mission to antagonize Yuki-sempai was unsurprisingly easy to carry out. This would rile her up and cause her to up the attempts to get out of there and get at me.

The thumps from the cupboard were, as predicted, increasing in force and number. Everything was going according to plan.

YUKIMURA

"Mura-buchou!"

I turned. "Yes, Niou?"

"Akaya's messing up the kitchen," he informed me.

"I suppose you helped?"

"Yeah well, I did… then he got a bit out of control and Yagyuu sent me to get either you or Sanada; since you were the first one I found…"

"Right, I'll be along."

"I have a feeling there wouldn't be much left after he's done tearing the place up."

Somehow I got the premonition that this was a trick. But it was probably just a boy who cried wolf scenario, so I ignored it and followed the Petenshi to the kitchen.

I really should have paid more attention to my premonitions.

YUKI

"YOU FREAKS, GET ME THE HELL OUTTA HERE!!" I screamed. All this screaming was really not doing any good for my throat. I added it to the bill that Tano, Niou and Aki-chan were going to pay once I got out.

"Just a moment, Yuki-sempai, we'll let you out in three… two… one…" there was a click as the lock turned, and I instantly flung my weight against the door.

Which, since the door was unlocked, resulted in my flight out of the bedamned cupboard… and the subsequent crash with the person I least wanted to meet – Yukimura Seiichi, the stunning buchou of Rikkaidai who just _knew_ he was irresistible without having to look in the mirror.

Mentally I cursed Kami-sama to hell and back. Why, of all the people I could have crashed into, did it _have_ to be _him_?!

And the next thing I knew, my momentum and weight had sent us both to the floor. This in itself was bad enough. But things just _had_ to get worse, didn't it?

There was a slam as the door to the kitchen closed. Everyone else had vanished, and I was alone with Yukimura. Damn you, Kami-sama. If anything happens, it'll be your fault.

YUKIMURA

"Niou…" I muttered ominously. He was really going to get it. Setting up a whole story about Akaya destroying the kitchen and then making Koori-chan fall on me wasn't precisely the most endearing of things to do.

First things first, though. "Koori-chan… would you mind getting off me?"

"Oh, gomen Yukimura-san," she apologized, obeying. "I'm really sorry about all this."

"It's not your fault," I reassured. "Niou has laps – or worse – coming to him, though."

She sighed. "I really didn't want matters to come to this – no, I mean, I really didn't want to cause such trouble. After all, I _am_ the host, so I should've been taking care of the guests – "

"Shush," I said, interrupting her rambling. "I already said that it wasn't your fault, so stop insisting on it, Koori-chan."

Wide, dark eyes stared into mine. She seemed surprised at my unusually bad mood; normally I would have shushed her in a more… gentle way, I suppose. Sighing inwardly, I set myself for a long night.

YUKI

I couldn't help watching him out of the corners of my eyes. Even though it was dark, I somehow still saw him quite clearly. As I studied him, I found myself thinking that surely it was impossible for a guy to be so pretty.

Mentally, I slapped myself. Baka! I thought. Why the hell are you even thinking this way? Then again, there _was_ no avoiding the fact that he was drop-dead gorgeous. And his smile was doing weird things to my stomach. Making the pit of it feel gooey was definitely something weird. Wasn't that only supposed to happen to girls when their _crush_ smiled at them?

Hang on a second there. Maybe I _did_ crush on him… Only the absence of the required flowers prevented me from starting to do that mentally retarded 'he loves me, he loves me not' exercise. Except in my case it would be 'I like him, I like him not' or something to that effect.

Good Kami-sama, I was _fickle_. How quickly I'd changed my affections from Tezuka-san to Yukimura! They weren't even anywhere _near_ alike. That would have been Sanada-san, maybe. Definitely _not_ Yukimura. But the fact was, impossible though it was, that I liked him.

TANO

"Yo, Tsuki-chan! We've finally done something to help with Yuki-chan's overwhelming virginity!" I said cheerfully, peering into Fuji-kun's room, where my to-die-for teammate still resided.

She glanced up at me. "Did Niou help?"

"Yes! And I bet you that by tomorrow we shall have a nice pair of pretty lovebirds!" I beamed at her.

"That's nice… They _are_ sort of taking their time about it…" said Tsuki-chan, but I could see her mind was elsewhere. Fuji-kun shifted in the bed muttering indistinctly, and almost involuntarily, my friend rested a hand on his head, frowned, then reached for a towel on the table beside her.

"You look like a nurse," I informed her, coming into the room and closing the door behind me.

"I'll take that as a compliment. My mother was a nurse before she married."

"…Allow me to rearticulate. You look like a wife taking care of her husband," I said teasingly. Maybe I was on a sugar high…

Unfortunately her reaction wasn't what I thought it would be. "Saa, that's nice… do you mind getting Yuki-chan to call the doctor again? He's heating up…"

Grinning broadly, I said expansively, "Sure, Tsuki-chan, anything for a friend!"

As I left, I pondered upon the atypical softness in her eyes. Maybe we would have more couples by the time we returned to Tokyo…

YUKIMURA

I glanced at her curiously, thinking. Why had I gone through all that trouble of telling her about Tezuka? What was it about her that niggled my conscience?

It seemed that she, too, was thinking about that. "Yukimura-san… why did you tell me about Tezuka, when you knew that I wouldn't take the news well?" she asked tentatively.

How could I answer her when I couldn't answer myself? "Just a whim," I said evasively.

She glanced at me. "You have many whims, Yukimura-san."

"Indeed I do. Is that a crime?" I asked, smiling.

She didn't reply for several seconds. Then suddenly she said, "Yukimura-san, you should smile more. You look better when you smile."

Surprised at this sudden comment, I turned towards her. "Why did you suddenly say that?"

"Just a whim," she answered, shrugging.

I felt a grin spread over my face. "You are one annoying girl."

She, too, grinned slightly. "It's one of my charms."

YUKI

I couldn't believe I'd just said that. But now that it had been said, there really wasn't much I could do about it.

"It _is_ one of your charms," mused Yukimura. "You are annoying, but not in an annoying way… not that I'm making sense, anyway."

"You're not," I informed him. "But when you're sensible you're scary."

He raised an eyebrow. "And why, might I know?"

"Because you were being sensible when you told me about Tezuka-san being gay," I replied. "But you weren't being sensible when you asked me for a dance. And when you're being sensible, you don't have nice whims like saving me from the fire."

"You aren't making sense, either," he told me, smiling. Good Kami-sama, it wasn't fair when someone's smile could make you feel so much like jelly – all shivery and soft and… defenseless. I felt goose bumps run along my arms; it felt oddly pleasant.

"I don't mind that, if it'll make you smile." The words slipped out of my mouth, barely above a whisper; I hoped that he didn't hear, and yet at the same time hoped that he had.

He blinked. "You don't mind not making sense, if it'd make me smile?" he repeated. "Was that what you said?"

So he _had_ heard me. I felt heat rise in my cheeks as I looked away.

"You did, didn't you? If you didn't you'd have said something," he said, reaching over. Firmly but not roughly, he turned my head so that I looked at him. In his beautiful indigo eyes I could see my own reflection; his touch was unnaturally warm.

"Yukimura-san… would you grant me a whimsical fancy?" Feeling as though I were outside my body, I heard the senseless words fall.

He smiled, and I melted. "Maybe."

Still detached, I watched as my body pulled him in for a kiss. Then instantly I was back inside it, and this feeling… it was indescribable. Surely it was impossible for this to be happening to me; such pleasure couldn't be human.

When I finally ran out of breath, I pulled away reluctantly. "Arigato, Yukimura-san, for –"

"For doing something that I wanted to do?" To my surprise, he cut across me. "You don't need to thank me." The smile was, if possible, even more beautiful than it had been before.

**A/N: Urgh. This chapter was truly cringeworthy, for me at least. Whimsical fancy, indeed. (grimaces) well, review anyway. **

**PS: I think I'm the world's worst kiss-writer. Don't you agree?**


	25. Just One Moonlit Night

Chapter 25: Just One Moonlit Night 

IMAI

The cold made everyone sleepy, even though we had been here in Hokkaido for almost a week. This meant that almost everybody was heading for bed before ten at night.

Tonight, however, was different. Yuki-sempai had predictably confessed to Yukimura-san, and they had been – spending time – with each other since that little locked-in-the-cupboard incident. Alas for them, they had been interrupted by Tano-buchou with an urgent demand from Tsuki-sempai for the doctor, regardless of the time. It proved just how worried over her friend – or perhaps more than a friend? – she was.

Yuki-sempai, after checking on Fuji-sempai, decided that a call for the doctor was indeed justified, and so the unfortunate man had come. His news had been both good and bad; Fuji-sempai no longer had the respiratory problem of pneumonia, but the fever that had come with it had risen to dangerous temperatures. To top it all off, Fuji-sempai, in a questionably sane moment, had flatly refused half of the medication prescribed for him despite the violent protests from Eiji-sempai, Yukimura-san, Tsuki-sempai and not least the doctor.

Yuki-sempai had let the poor man leave before things got too hectic with a stipulation that he would return the next day, then shooed everyone back to their rooms. Tsuki-sempai stayed with Fuji-sempai, and nobody said anything. Well, almost nobody. I did happen to be witness to an interesting scene not long after most of the people had left.

Oshitari-san had gone over to talk to Tsuki-sempai. "Tsuki-chan, you really ought to get some sleep," he had purred.

Tsuki-sempai had sighed and leaned into his hold for a few seconds, letting him kiss her slowly before she pulled away. "No, Yuushi; he needs someone to stay the night with him. The doctor said if the fever continues to rise he might start having fits, and if that happens… I really don't want to think about it."

"Hmm… Why do you care so much about him? Are you in love with him? Why didn't you just tell me straight out, na?" Oshitari-san had demanded of her.

"Yuushi! I don't think of him that way! Our relationship is an utterly platonic one!" Tsuki-sempai had protested. "I'm not kissing him or anything like I do with you!"

"Then why?" he had insisted.

"He's my _friend_, that's why. If Yuki-chan were in that state, I'd stay up with her too," she had informed him.

They had had a silent staring match for a few seconds before Oshitari-san had broken away. "Fine, then. I'll believe you… for now."

With that, he had walked off. Tsuki-sempai had stared after him for a moment, then turned and reentered Fuji-sempai's room.

"Ii data," I had murmured, smiling to myself.

TSUKI

I really had to respect my mother for being a nurse. It has to be one of the most trying occupations on earth. Especially if you were on night shift.

I managed to stay awake till close to eleven with the help of a Greek comprehension exercise and a research on some numbers (e.g. the number twelve, which is a composite number, the smallest number with exactly six divisors – 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. The densest three-dimensional lattice sphere packing has each sphere touching twelve others, which is true for almost any arrangement of spheres, as shown by the Kepler Conjecture. Twelve is also the kissing number in three dimensions – kissing numbers, in geometry, is the maximum number of spheres of radius 1 that can simultaneously touch the unit sphere in _n_-dimensional Euclidean space, and the kissing number problem seeks the kissing number as a function of _n_). But since I had had less than three hours of sleep in the last twenty-four hours, even physics exercises (in Roman numerals to boot) failed to stave off sleep, despite my having the best intentions in the world.

Normally one would say, "Well, if you need to sleep, why not? Your patient is sleeping too." But in this case, things were more complicated. Fuji hallucinated at random intervals, whimpering and thrashing, throwing off the covers then shivering in cold. It was agonizing to watch his pain and misery, to witness his losing battle against whatever horrors chased him in his fevered dreams.

Furthermore, the chair in which I sat was not the most comfortable piece of furniture. I had chosen it for that very property, so that I would stay alert for the longest possible period of time. Even so, I was barely awake when what the doctor had predicted occurred.

We all know that if a fever runs to long unchecked, the brain gets affected slightly, such that the patient may forget to breathe as the brain 'forgets' to send the order for the lungs to inflate. The ensuing oxygen deprivation results in a fit, as the patient fights to take in air again. This was exactly what happened to Fuji.

What woke me was the choking sound. I roused myself, only to find that he was awake, but still delirious. His eyes were wide as they stared into nothingness; his limbs flailing and his backbone arched in his attempts to draw breath. Sad to say, instead of reasoning things out and taking the logical course of action, I went by instinct.

I literally leapt onto that bed and forced him to collapse from the sharp arch by pressing my full weight onto his torso, then caught hold of his flying extremities. Certainly he fought, oh yes he did, and hard. People in delirium have unheard-of strength; where they get it from is anyone's guess. Still, though, I hung on grimly, knowing that if I let go I would be hard-put to catch him again.

Eventually I felt the pressure ease, and he let out a deep sigh. His eyes flickered in a moment of lucidity… "Arigato, Tsuki-chan… I had a fit, didn't I?" he asked.

"Well… yes. And I can tell you it's not pleasant to keep an eye on you at all, Fuji," I informed him.

He smiled. "Sorry. But I think I may have to trouble you some more tonight…" Drowsiness was already infiltrating his voice. "You don't mind staying… with me, do you? I need you…" His voice trailed off, and I knew he was asleep.

"… Need me?" I repeated. Did he really mean that? I decided to disregard it for the moment and climbed off the bed, returning to my chair.

Sometime past midnight, I was woken again. Fuji was shivering uncontrollably; muttering unintelligible things under his breath.

Why was he shivering? The covers had not been kicked aside; the room was still well-heated. Reaching over, I rested my hand to the side of his neck; he was still burning with the fever. Guilt rode me – if I had not let him stay through the whole of my ritual, he would not have fallen sick; if he'd obediently taken the prescription from the doctor, he might be cooling down by now!

Involuntarily, my hands clenched. His eyes flickered open, allowing me to glimpse just a shard of sapphire, not enough to be able to tell whether he was lucid or hallucinating still.

"Tsuki-chan," he whispered, "it's so cold."

"Did the hot-water-bottles cool down already?" I asked, trying to sound businesslike.

"I… don't know… but it's cold…" came the shaky response.

I bit my lip. What other way was there to warm him?

(Flashback)

"Mother, why are you hugging Yuu-nii?" I asked.

"I'm trying to keep him warm," she said.

"But he's asleep. He has covers already too, and I just changed the hot-water-bottles," I pointed out.

"Yes, but he's still feeling cold; it's like that when you have a fever, remember? Anyway, the ultimate way to warm a human is with your own body. It's an important thing if you are nursing your own family. It seems to draw away their pain and warms them at the same time." She fixed me with a stern look warningly. "However, remember that when you do this, it is as a last resort as artificial means of generating heat are ineffective. If the patient's sickness is contagious, there is a dangerously high percentage chance that you will contract it if you attempt this."

(End Flashback)

The artificial means of generating heat that I had immediately at hand were futile now, and as far as I knew, his disease was not contagious. Taking a deep breath, I slowly raised the heavy covers and slid in, tentatively wrapping my arms around him. Hopefully I would warm him and drain away his pain.

It would be worth it, just for him…

FUJI

The first sense that returned completely was sight.

When I woke, I found myself looking out of the window. The crescent moon glowed like the Adamantine Sickle of Greek legends, hanging against the midnight velvet of the sky studded with bright diamonds of stars. Snowflakes floated past, as light as down.

I knew I wasn't hallucinating, for the shadows I saw stayed in the shape they were; the moon did not morph into a real sword and cut the velvet fabric of the sky; the stars did not fly towards me like bullets with my name engraved upon them. I enjoyed the view as I waited for the rest of my senses to return.

When they did, I was overloaded.

Shock raced through my veins, turning my blood cold. "… Tsuki-chan?!"

She did not wake or pull away; if anything, she seemed to tighten her hold. How on _earth_ had this happened? Had I said something while still in deep fever? Had she come of her own will? I did not know.

I could feel her breath on my skin; was sharply aware of every place where we touched. This was not good... I was scared, frightened – and yet, I felt the sense of exhilaration that I rarely experienced. This was something I had never thought of, never considered, never occurred to me even in fevered dreamworlds and nightmare lands.

I tried to ease out of her hold, but once again she hung on, not letting me go. Still weak, I gave up after a moment. Girls, I noticed abstractedly as she buried her head in my chest, were so… soft. And they smelled nice - Tsuki-chan smelled of mint, fresh and sharp. I wonder why.

Carnal longing and primal instinct assaulted the walls of reason and propriety within me. I quashed them violently, forcing them back behind the barriers that held my emotions, barriers that I had built upon for so long.

I would not take her against her will, no matter how much I wanted her. She belonged to Yuushi, no matter what manner of dissuasion I employed. She thought of me as nothing more than a friend, no matter that I loved her.

She shifted, tucking herself to me, molding her body to mine. Instantly primitive desires reared their ugly heads, embittered with their previous loss, mouthing and gesticulating, tearing at the mental barricades I held against them. Closing my eyes, I fought the internal battle.

It was hard, indeed it was. These natural yearnings had brought men and women to their knees, pleading for release; they had suffered at the hands of this feeling, known to many as love. But, bearing down with all the willpower I had, I brought it under control, breaking it to the reins that I held.

Still…

The moonlight reflected off her silver hair. It glowed in the shadowy room like the beacon of a lighthouse in the deep, doubtful darkness of the nights at sea. She had healed me in ways that defied the laws of science. I would respect her, though I longed to know every inch of her in the most intimate manner.

I saw the gentle smile on her lips, and felt my own curve slightly upwards. Just for tonight, I could believe that she was mine.

Even if it was just one moonlit night.

**A/N: (goes into a corner to cry) I really can't believe I wrote such terrible mush. Maybe I should stick to humor. T.T but this is a romance fic, and therefore mush is necessary…**

**Well, to anyone who thinks that I've been neglecting the main pairing, I hope this is satisfying. Key word is hope. T.T**

**Reviews make my day!**


	26. Pain of the Aftershock

Chapter 26: Pain of the Aftershock 

SAIYA

I caught my breath in shock. I had _not_ just seen that. I could not believe it. I _would_ not believe it.

I had arrived at the mansion just a few minutes ago. Yuki-chan had woken up to greet me, and when I asked about _him_, had informed me that _he_ was sick. Which naturally made me run straight to _his_ room to see _him_.

I had seen much more than I would have wanted to.

Biting my lip, I slowly made my way to the family rooms. Surely _he_ had not pulled her into _his_ bed; surely _he_ was blameless! There was no way _he_ could be so lewd, so indecorous. This indecency was Tsuki-chan's fault; I knew that it had to be her. _She_ was the one, not _him_. Yes, I would believe that. She was the one to blame, that deceitful, lying slut.

It was unforgivable. As I entered my room, I angrily swiped at the tears that trickled down my cheeks, unbidden.

FUJI

The dim glow of the false dawn lit the sky when I woke up. Glancing down, I allowed myself to smile genuinely at the sight of her, so innocent, so defenseless. Raising a hand, I let it slide through the strands of her hair, splayed out on the sheets; I let myself dream.

She stirred slightly, shifting. "Yuu…? I… love you too, Yuu…" she whispered, the words barely audible.

The soaring hopes that I had tried in vain to repress plummeted. I should have known better… By 'Yuu', she _had_ to mean Yuushi. She was in love with Oshitari Yuushi, and I should have known better than to think otherwise. After all, she wasn't the type to just flirt and fling.

My hands clenched reflexively. In the process, I accidentally caught hold of some wisps of her hair, and she woke up completely.

"Tsuki-chan…?"

She blinked at me for a moment, then silently pulled away from me, slid out of the bed, gathered most of her things and walked out of the room. Just as she closed the door, though, she whispered three words, barely loud enough to reach me – "This never happened." – then she was gone. If possible, my hopes sank even further.

Please, Kami-sama, let me at least keep her friendship. I would do anything to retain her companionship.

TSUKI

Sleep, I told myself firmly. Good, long sleep, so that you will recover properly. You were completely out of it last night. Whatever happened was caused by sleep deprivation.

Even I was unable to believe my words. As I slid under the covers of my own bed, I found myself wondering why it was so cold. Unbidden, memories of what had occurred that night floated to the surface of my mind.

The reassuringly regular heartbeat. The warmth of his body. The unique yet comforting scent of vanilla and apples, vaguely soured by fever-sweat. The manner in which I seemed to mould to him so perfectly, matching bone to bone, limb to limb. The way he had held me, both gentle and protective. The strange, unfamiliar look in his wonderfully sane, beautiful cerulean eyes with which he had regarded me as I woke.

Why was I thinking of this? He would never want me in that way. Besides, my boyfriend was Yuushi. Perhaps it was because Fuji's touch reminded me of Yuu-nii, a touch too long not felt…

YUKIMURA

"So you finally admit it," I remarked.

"It wasn't like that before," Syuusuke-kun protested.

I ran my fingers through his hair, smiling. "Whatever you say, Syuusuke-kun."

I had come to visit him just after breakfast and had found him awake and alert. He looked almost none the worse for the wear; the only difference was the slightly drawn look on his normally easy smile. Seeing me, he had asked if I could help him comb his hair – apparently he felt dizzy when he tried to raise his arms above his head. Naturally, I had immediately obliged. The sight of his usually neat hair in disarray was spurring, to say the least.

While I had carried out the job, Syuusuke-kun had told me most of what had happened the night before, though I suspected he was leaving out quite a few personal details. It had certainly been thought provoking.

Absently fingering the fine brown strands, I asked, "Are you going to tell her?"

He looked at me oddly. "No, of course not. She is in love with Oshitari Yuushi, and I won't ruin our friendship for such a selfish purpose."

"You're scared, aren't you?" I observed, smiling.

His eyes opened in surprise, then he smiled too. "I should have known that I couldn't hide anything from you, Seiichi-kun. You know me too well."

TANO

I knocked on the door, then, hearing the call of "Come in," opened it and went in.

"Ah, Fuji-kun. You're feeling better already?" I greeted him.

He smiled at me, putting down what looked suspiciously like a high-school molecular biology textbook. "Hello, Tano-chan. Yes, I'm feeling much better now."

"You have a fast recovery rate," I informed him.

"Thanks. Where is Niou-kun?"

I blinked at him. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, Seiichi-kun informed me about you two. He and Yuki-chan were in here earlier; you just missed them."

"Well, that's okay. I didn't come here to talk about Masaharu," I explained.

"Sou ka… then what _are_ you here about?" he asked, tilting his head on one side. Even I thought he could be endearing – when he wasn't being sadistic.

"Nothing much really… I went to look for Tsuki-chan and apparently she's still asleep in her room, so I assumed you wouldn't have much company, and so, here I am. Somehow I feel like I have a duty to look after my teammate's friend," I said dismissively. Spotting some sheets of paper on the bedside table, I picked them up and looked them over. My eyes bugged out. "What in the name of Kami-sama is _this_?!"

"Oh, those? Tsuki-chan left them behind last night. I was just going to ask you to bring them to her for me since I still can't leave the bed," explained Fuji-kun.

I put the papers down gingerly – along with a little something that Masaharu had given me. "Good Kami-sama… I never knew she did Greek. And those physics problems were done in _Roman numerals_, for heaven's sake. Aren't they hard enough in normal numbers?"

"Maa, ne. Tsuki-chan was probably trying to stay awake," he shrugged.

"Roman numerals in physics problems are not things that one would normally consider as sleep-preventing activities," I commented dryly. "You tensais are truly scary."

He just smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Technically, it wasn't meant to be one, but never mind. I'll take them to her. Anything else?" I asked, hoping that there weren't – Roman-numeral physics and Greek comprehension were bad enough.

"Nothing… Oh, if she's awake, ask her if she'd like to come over and do the biology bonus project. It should be easy enough, but it's always more fun when you do things with other people," he said after a moment's thought.

I glanced at the textbook again and shuddered. It was almost definitely molecular biology or biochemistry. Neither was especially appealing. "I'll get her if she's awake."

TSUKI

By the time I woke up it was past noon. Stretching, I smiled to myself; it had been a particularly good nap, almost four hours of shuteye. Rolling out of bed, I noticed that there were additions to my bedside table.

_Tsuki-chan, since you were still asleep when I came, I just left your study things on the desk. Fuji-kun asked if you'd like to do the biology bonus with him when you woke. P.S. Roman numerals?!!! Are you mad?!!!_

_Tano Hikari_

I laughed at her reaction to my work, then went to change and freshen up. Just before I left the room, though, I caught sight of my silver flute. Thinking that if he happened to be asleep or sick when I went, I might go to the music room, I picked it up.

Having crossed the corridor to his room, I knocked on his door. "Fuji? You awake?"

"Wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, to use equine imagery," came the soft but amused reply.

Walking in, I felt the corners of my mouth rise in a smile. He was looking very healthy for someone who had had a fever of over 40 degrees Celsius less than twenty-four hours ago.

"Fast recovery, ne?" I commented. "Even I didn't think you'd be doing biology again so quickly."

"Maa, we both know I had a good nurse," he smiled. At the memory of my 'care' for him, I suppressed the urge to flush and concealed the minor awkwardness by settling myself in a convenient chair that was much more comfortable than the one I had used the night before.

"Are? Why did you bring your flute?" Fuji had noticed the said item.

"Well, I was thinking that if you weren't awake I'd go to the music rooms."

He pouted at me, strongly reminding me of Eiji. "Mou… and here I though you'd brought it to play for me…"

I hit him. Not too hard, since he hadn't fully recovered. "Baka. Why would I do that?"

"Saa ne…" he grinned at me. "By the way, I finished the biology bonus just before you came."

I whacked him with full strength now. "Why didn't you say so before?"

"Itai! Well, you didn't ask, so – "

"As if that's a reason. So I might as well take myself off, since you apparently don't exactly need my company." I made as if to leave.

"Wait, do you know how to play Meditation from Thais, by Massenet?" he asked, catching hold of my blouse.

I tried not to blush at the contact. "Why do you ask?"

"It's one of my favorite flute pieces…"

"So why don't you play it?" I held out the flute.

"I won't exactly be able to do it justice in this condition." He stared at me with liquid eyes, which were particularly successful due to their innate hypnotic effect.

Sighing deeply, I shook my head. "You know, if you wanted me to play, you could just have said so straight out."

"That's no fun, and you know it," he replied, grinning.

"I hate it when you are right," I informed him, positioning the flute.

FUJI

'Heavenly' would not have been to strong a word to describe the music that poured out of her flute. The high notes soared; the low reverberated; the transitional ones flowed like a river of sound. The raw tremor of the deep notes against the high singing of the light ones drew a sharp contrast, but both were equally well executed. As a fellow flautist I knew that the piece was difficult, yet she played it perfectly. I was held, spellbound, until the very last note faded, leaving the room in complete silence.

"That was… divine," I said at last.

"Thanks." Silence embraced us; the last sweet echoes dissipated.

Unable to keep myself from asking that question that had been bothering me since that night – or rather that morning – I asked, "Ne, Tsuki-chan… who is Yuu?"

She looked up at me, startled, before turning away stiffly. "Yuu – Kayuu was my older brother. He's… dead."

**A/N: ooooh cliffie. Kinda. I hope she isn't getting all mushy and MS. Review!**


	27. Things We Never Knew

Chapter 27: Things we never knew 

YUKIMURA

"USSO!! Why didn't Tsuki-chan tell us nya?!" shouted Kikumaru.

Everyone else shushed him, though I could see that many people, particularly the girls, were thinking exactly the same thing as he. We continued listening with bated breath.

What were we listening to? Well, the microphone that Tano-chan had set in the room at the request of Niou was working well. Almost everyone apart from the pair we were listening to was gathered in the music room, where the microphone transmitted to a loudspeaker set so that all of us could hear what was going on in that room.

"Tsuki-chan, I didn't mean to – I – " There was a rustling of sheets; I assumed that Syuusuke-kun had either got out of bed or was sitting up. "Tsuki-chan…"

"I… loved him," she said abruptly. "He was ten years older than me, and I… I idolized him, worshipped him. Then… just before my eighth birthday… he'd gone on a school trip to Singapore, and it was the dengue season."

I could almost hear the slight frown in his voice. "Let me guess. He caught the dengue, but wasn't diagnosed in time, so when he finally received treatment it was already too late."

There was a pause; probably she was nodding. "The fever cooked his brains; less than a week after his return, he died." Her voice was flat, unemotional.

"I'm sorry, Tsuki-chan." Real emotion underlined his words; he was genuinely repentant towards her.

There was another pregnant pause. "I… don't really want to talk about this, Fuji. I'll be going now; ja ne."

"Ja," came the reply. The click of the door being closed came through the speakers, followed by the sound of Syuusuke-kun shifting; he was probably settling back down. The rustle of pages was all that we heard after that.

TSUKI

"Of all things," I grumbled to myself as I walked down the corridor, trying to prevent the wetness that stung my eyes from escaping and staining my cheeks. How had he known that I'd had a brother? I'd never mentioned it at all… unless I had talked in my sleep. Smiling slightly, I shook the thought away; that couldn't have happened.

Yuu-nii…

(Flashback)

"Tadaima!" called the messy, long indigo-haired and silver-eyed boy who was also known as my brother, slamming the door behind him. "Yo, squirt. How was today?"

"Fun! I went to Raiya-chan's house; you remember her don't you Yuu-nii – Raiin-nii's youngest sister!" I replied happily. "We joined in Raiko-nii's tennis practice too; his coach didn't mind but Raiko-nii wasn't very happy…"

"I should think so; not many guys would want their six-year-old sister and her friend butt into their training," he told me, tossing his bag down and throwing himself onto a chair, then tugging my hair playfully.

"Mou, that hurts," I complained, climbing into his lap and looking up at him. "Yuu-nii, would you be like Raiko-nii and be upset if I came to your training?"

He wrapped his arms around me in a hug. "Of course not. You can join us any time you want, li'l sistah."

I took him at his word, and that Saturday when he had tennis practice, I followed him. When he heard that I wanted to come, he laughed, and then actually piggybacked me the whole journey to his high school tennis courts.

"Oi, Kayuu! Who's that you've got there?" shouted a raven-haired boy with aqua eyes.

"Yo, Raiin. That's my sister, Tsukiko," said Yuu-nii.

"Ah, now I remember. Ohayo, Tsuki-chan."

"Ohayo, Raiin-nii," I replied, smiling at Raiya-chan and Raiko-nii's eldest brother.

Suddenly another person came over. He looked to be older than Yuu-nii; he was pale blonde with dark eyes, and a frown marked his forehead. "Hayashi, you should know that this girl will only get in our way," he said in an annoyed manner.

Yuu-nii looked a bit angry. "She won't, Kanerou-buchou. She's a good kid."

The buchou snorted. "Whatever. Put her somewhere where she wouldn't get underfoot and then do twenty laps as warming-up. And don't bring her again."

Wordlessly, Yuu-nii obeyed, setting me down on a bench close enough to the courts that I could watch the players but far away enough that most of his friends wouldn't notice me. "Ignore Kanerou-buchou, Tsuki-chan. I have to listen to him because he's the buchou, but whatever he says, you can still come, okay?" he said, hugging me before leaving for the courts.

The thought still bothered me though, and after his practice when he came to collect me, I asked, "Yuu-nii, am I troublesome to you?"

He stared at me for a few seconds, then knelt down to look at me, eye to eye. "Not you, Tsuki-chan. Never you. You're my sister; I love you."

I smiled, happy that I wasn't bothersome. "I love you too, Yuu-nii."

Standing, he slung me onto his back again to bring me home. "Thanks, Tsuki-chan. I need love right now."

(End Flashback)

The threat of tears was even stronger now; I fiercely reined them in as I turned the corner and… walked straight into someone.

"Itai – Eh? Saiya-chan…?" I blinked in surprise at the sight of her; when had she come?

The brunette stared at me in an equal measure of surprise, then her eyes hardened in what looked like… anger. But anger wasn't a very Saiya-like emotion. Had I done something wrong?

SAIYA

"You… you slut," I hissed, giving way to the rage-filled words that threatened to choke me.

She looked confused. "What?"

"I said you're a slut. Why? I'll tell you why. I came here last night, and Yuki-chan told me about _him_ being sick. So, being all nice and caring, I went to see him, even though I knew he'd be asleep. And guess _what_ I saw?!" I glared at her, and from the shock on her face I knew she knew what I was talking about. "Let's see, I saw a _bitch_ there taking advantage of a sick boy." Anger like hot coals burned within me.

I hated this feeling. I'd never been so angry before; or rather, nobody had made me angry at all before. I could normally accept other's faults without comment, because I knew I had plenty of my own. I was the timid girl-next-door, always trying to stay on the good side of the teachers and to avoid offending anyone. But now that _I_ was the one offended, I felt strangely out of my depth. In the first place, I didn't even know _why_ I was so extremely angry with her. Perhaps I was indeed jealous; she had so much – beauty, brains, talent, wit – all the things I lacked. Perhaps the recent events that brought me here had affected me even more than I'd originally thought.

One more thing that I had not known she'd had before, but now realized – she had the love of at least two boys laid on her altar.

"Yuki-chan told me this morning that you were an official item with Oshitari Yuushi. I was surprised – because of what I'd seen last night. You bitch! You flirt with Oshitari-san by day while you sleep with _him_ by night. You two-time them, and neither knows about the other. You want the best of both worlds, don't you – you want the hot Oshitari-san for appearances and play; you want _him_ for fondness and pleasure. You don't deserve them; you abuse your power over them; you – "

"Saiya, _listen to me_, will you?!" cried Tsuki-chan at the slight break in my ranting as I drew breath. "At least let me defend myself!" I paused, panting slightly from the exertion.

"It's _not_ what you think, Saiya," she began. "Yuushi's my boyfriend, Fuji's my friend. A very close friend, but still just _friends_."

"_Just friends_ don't sleep together," I challenged.

"He was sick – fatally sick. My mother told me to do that if you were in desperate straits," she explained.

"_I_ don't see doctors doing that to any of their patients," I retorted.

"Who said I was a doctor?"

"You're smart enough to be one. That kind of treatment does _not_ involve any kind of science."

"Well, you can't say it wasn't ineffective."

That brought me up short for a moment, because she was right. Yuki-chan had said that _he_ was running dangerously high temperatures, but later Tano-san had said that he was looking fine and much better than could have been expected.

Seeming encouraged by my abrupt silence, she continued, "And also, you seem to think I have a lot of things, and I think you're jealous, aren't you? But let me tell you this – having too much is not a good thing. Your precious, idolized Fuji Syuusuke could tell you the same – that being a gorgeous tensai is harder than to be an average person."

I was speechless. _He_ had the largest fan club in the school. She had half the level eyeing her. Both had the best grades in the school and the teachers looked upon them with favor; both were tennis tensais. How could all this be a bad thing? I I told her as much.

She looked at me, almost pityingly. "Those who do not live that life will never be able to understand. And now, if you'll excuse me." Walking past me, she suddenly stopped and added, "And later, if we have time, I'd like to know exactly why you're here in the first place."

**A/N: I personally think the brother-sister relationship was sweet. Saiya is an ass. I wanted to cut out her entire character last time… ah wells, you're stuck with that terrible OC. Review, nya!**


	28. Death and Destruction

Chapter 28: Death and Destruction 

YUKI

"Saiya, where were you? You totally missed out!" I told my cousin. I had found her in her room seated on her bed after the little escapade with the listening device. Then I did a double take. "Are? You look a bit spaced out."

She stared at me for a few seconds, then shook her head. "I'm fine."

I decided to let it go for now; I had a rather more important question on my mind. "Hey, Saiya, you still haven't told us why you're here," I said, sitting down next to her.

Her head jerked up, and her eyes filled with tears. "Later, Yuki-chan… believe me, you won't be happy when you hear this."

I frowned. "Is it really so bad?"

"Yes."

"Well, then just tell me now and get it over with," I suggested.

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

Getting a little pissed off, I said, "Saiya-chan, tell me _now_, or I shall tell Mother that you were being a brat. As your godmother she does have plenty of influence on what happens to you, in case you forgot."

"You can't complain to your mother," she said dully.

"Oh? And why not? Gonna try and stop me?" I demanded.

"Because she's _dead_. You can't talk to her anymore."

"…You're kidding, aren't you?" I smiled uncertainly.

"No, I'm not. Your parents were involved in a freak accident on holiday in Jamaica. They died before the ambulance arrived." Her voice was completely toneless.

SAIYA

"Well, now that's nice. I didn't know anything about it," she said conversationally.

I stared at her in amazement. She didn't seem to be affected at all by the devastating news. I had cried for at least four hours non-stop when I was told of Godmother's death, and here was Godmother's daughter talking about her death as if it was the death of someone completely unrelated to her.

"Eto… Yuki-chan, did you hear me right? I said that your parents are both dead," I repeated tentatively.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I did hear. When's the funeral?" she asked, smiling. I could only stare back at her, speechless.

A long, long moment passed. Then…

"Stop right there. _My_ parents are _dead_?!"exclaimed Yuki-chan. "What the hell are you talking about?! That just _can't_ be true!"

Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief. It had just been a delayed reaction after all, not an actual happiness at her parents' death…

Now that the information I had passed to her had finally been processed and ingrained into her brain, she was crying. No, scratch that. She was bawling like a little kid. Not that anyone could blame her – I, too, was crying again.

I endured it with her as best as I could. When her voice had given out and there were no more tears left to cry, she coughed, scrubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands, then silently headed to the bathroom. I followed her.

"Yuki-chan, we must go back to Tokyo. I know you were on holiday with all your friends, but – "

She shook her head, indicating that she had gotten my meaning. "I'll tell them," she rasped. "Inform the airport that we need emergency clearance sometime tomorrow."

I nodded. "Sort the details later, Yuki-chan. Just try to get more… used to this first."

"_Used_ to it?!" Now she turned, glaring at me. "_How_ the (beep)ing hell do you expect me to get used to the fact that both my parents have suddenly decided that I ought to learn how to fend for myself without them and thus got themselves killed?"

"I didn't mean it that way!" I protested. Then I remembered her present situation, and backtracked. "Sorry. I'm in the wrong."

"You realized," she snapped back. "Now get out of here. I need to be alone."

"Okay then, Yuki-chan. I'll come back later." Quietly, I left.

EIJI

"Unya? Ochibi, did you hear someone screaming?" I asked.

"… Now that you mention it, I think I did," he replied, looking rather confused.

"It's probably just Hyotei kicking up a fuss again… fshhhhhhh…" mumbled Kaidoh.

"Kaidoh! Don't be disrespectful of our hosts!" reprimanded Oishi.

"Hoi hoi! Let's go see what they're up to nya!" I bounced off towards the Hyotei and Rikkai rooms.

It seemed that everyone was crowded into either Yukimura and Niou's room or the rooms on each side, namely Gakuto's on the left and Kirihara and Marui's on the right. Needless to say, there was much mayhem there.

I jumped straight into Kirihara and Marui's room with utmost ecstasy. "PILLOW FIGHT NYA!!!"

"Oi, Kikumaru-san, you have to choose a side! Mine or the brat's!"

"Bunta-sempai, I am _not_ a brat!"

"Unya! I'll start my own side!" I replied happily. "Momo, Ochibi, Kaidoh, come join in!"

"Ah? Sure, Eiji-sempai! I love pillow fights, just love them!"

"Fshhh… this is stupid…"

"Mada mada dane, Kikumaru-sempai."

Yawns. "… there's a pillow fight…? AHH!! MARUI-SAN!!!"

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!"

"That's what you get for calling me a brat, Bunta-sempai."

"Jirou, where did you go…? OH THERE'S A PILLOW FIGHT!!! YUUSHI COME JOIN IN!!"

"Thanks, but no thanks, Gakuto. Hello, Yukimura-san."

"Oshitari-san, we're playing secret-poker. Want to join in?"

"… what exactly _is_ that?"

"Exactly the same as strip poker, only that you give out a secret each time instead of taking off an article of clothing."

"So… how did you persuade Atobe?"

"Ore-sama has no idea why he has agreed to participate."

"Neither do I, for that matter."

"Maa, Genichirou, lets just say that I'll let Renji use you as a guinea pig for his new juices when we get back to Tokyo if you don't."

"Eh? Mura-buchou, you said that _I_ could use him, not Yanagi!"

"Well, Niou, you can have Atobe if you like…"

"Ore-sama does not agree to this. Since when were you able to command Ore-sama anyway?"

"Always…" The I-am-_Kami_-so-fear-me smile.

Shivers. "Ore-sama was not aware of that development."

"There's plenty you aren't aware of, Monkey King."

"Ore-sama is not a Monkey King, brat."

"Mada mada dane…" Sips Ponta.

(Undertone) "Ne, Niou, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

(Whispers) "Yeah. Spike with the straight gin?"

Sadistic smile. "That would be nice."

"AHHHHHHH!!!"

"What happened?"

"WE NEED PILLOWS!!!!" All of us pillow-fighters invaded the adjacent rooms in search of pillows.

"What happened to the ones you were using?" inquired Yukimura.

"Nya, they broke," I pouted, gesturing back at Kirihara and Marui's room.

It was, to say the least, a mess. Feathers from the pillows still floated in the air; the rags of the pillowcases lay all over the place. Everything that wasn't nailed to the floor had been shifted – flipped, spun or dragged. Some red substance that had an unsettling resemblance to blood splattered the marble walls.

"What's all that red stuff?"

"Dunno… I think it might have been the blood from the person Kirihara bit…"

"OI!! DON'T THROW ME!! I'M NOT A PILLOW!!"

"But Jirou-san, you sure look like one…"

"Your red-eye problem must be getting worse, brat. But thanks anyway for getting him off me."

"Ore-sama protests the misuse of his teammates!"

"Nobody asked you, Monkey King."

"Excuse me – "

"Bunta-sempai, the next time he jumps on you I won't help."

"(Whack) OUCH!! Shishido, that was my head!!"

"Ah well, no loss there."

"WHATEVER!!!"

"_Excuse me_ – "

"(Slam) OI!! Ore-sama is not part of this pillow fight!!"

"Nobody cares, Atobe."

"You're right there, Mukahi, so right."

"Maa, it _does_ seem fun, ne, Genichirou?"

"… if you say so…"

"(Thwack) Puri… Join the fun, oh wonderful fukubuchou."

"Niou!! TARUNDORU!!! (Slap)"

"OW!!!"

"EXCUSE ME!!!!"

Everyone turned to look at the small maid who had interrupted us. "What?"

"Eto…" Under so many gazes, she blushed. "Eto, Koori-sama said to call you to the large sitting room. She has very important news."

I blinked at Ochibi. "Nya, what could be so important as to call us all together instead of just telling us one by one?"

"No idea."

The maid looked around the room and turned pale in shock. "Oh dear! Koori-sama will not be happy with this destruction?"

"Destruction?" I repeated, puzzled. "Oh, you mean the pillows?"

She stared back in disbelief. "Not just the pillows; everything has been damaged beyond repair!"

"Nya… Mengo mengo…"

Suddenly Shinjutsu-chan came running in. "You have _got_ to hear this! Fuji-sempai and Tsuki-sempai are… _doing_ things!"

**A/N: I like cliffies in my own fics. XD **

**This chapter is seriously schizo. First half was angst; second half was humor… maybe it says something about me, too…**

**Review!**


	29. Misunderstandings in two ways

Chapter 29: Misunderstandings in two ways 

TANO

We girls were gathered in the music room, waiting impatiently for the boys to arrive and listening half-embarrassedly and half-eagerly to the words emanating from the speakers.

"What on earth is going on?" said somebody, coming in.

"Quiet!" we all shushed him. "Listen!"

Yukimura looked interested. "That set of speakers is still connected to the microphone in Syuusuke-kun's room, right?"

We nodded and everyone settled down to listen.

" – doing?" came Tsuki-chan's voice.

"Isn't it obvious that I'm holding you down?" replied Fuji-kun.

"Kindly let go… you didn't need to be so rough…"

"Sorry, Tsuki-chan." A shifting movement could be heard.

"You know, you're actually really good at this."

"Maa, I did practice a lot with Yumiko-nee-chan."

"Itai! Stop pressing so hard!"

"Is this better?"

A sigh. "Much."

There was a short silence – well, not really silence, since there was some heavy breathing and shifting movements that could still be heard. Around me, I could hear many people struggling to keep from either screaming or laughing.

"Gotcha."

"Mean."

A laugh. "Think of better endearments, girl."

"Am I supposed to thank you for trapping me?"

"Well, you're not unhappy about it are you?"

"True…"

Once again, there was the noisy silence. Eiji-kun was turning red with the effort to hold either laughter or screams inside, as was Momo. I was sure that there were plenty of others outside my field of vision in the same state. Kaidoh and Kawamura were blushing furiously, as was Himitsu. Inui was scribbling at an unparalleled speed in his trusty green notebook; Aki-chan and Yukimura were grinning.

"Like I said, you really don't have to be so forceful," complained Tsuki-chan.

"Does it really matter? The fact is I caught you again."

"Whatever. Get off."

"Fine. Now, tell me that wasn't fun."

"Okay, it wasn't."

"You know very well that it was rhetorical."

"Fine, it was. Oh dear… looks like we stained the sheets."

"That _was_ your fault."

Kikumaru and Oishi burst at exactly the same moment. "WHAT ON EARTH??!!!"

"People, we need to go and see what's happened," said Oishi worriedly. "They're too young for this!"

With much laughter and speculation, we all trooped out of the music room and followed him to Fuji-kun's room."

EIJI

I really couldn't believe what I had just heard. They _had_ to have been… doing inappropriate things to say such things and to sound like that! I wouldn't have thought that Fujiko-chan and Tsuki-chan would do that!

I burst into Fujiko-chan's room immediately after Oishi. "UNYA!!! What were you two doing?!!!"

Fujiko-chan was lying on his bed; Tsuki-chan was sitting on it too. They both looked up in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't deny it; we all heard it!" I said accusingly.

"It is 90 chance that the pair of you were having se-"

Oishi clapped a hand over Inui's mouth. "Don't say that in front of the girls!"

Tano-chan rolled her eyes. "We all know it anyway…"

Fujiko-chan and Tsuki-chan still looked confused. "What did you hear?"

"We heard you two making out," replied Aki-chan, as emotionless as ever.

The pair stared at each other in what looked like consternation.

"There, see! You don't deny it!" I exclaimed. "Fujiko-chan, Tsuki-chan, I didn't think you were like that!!"

To my surprise, however, they both started laughing. They laughed till tears leaked from the corners of their eyes, and I looked on in amazement. Normally people would be pissed that someone else had heard them making out…

"Eiji, we _weren't_ making out!" choked Tsuki-chan. "We were – " she dissolved into laughter once again.

"We were playing thumb war," finished Fujiko-chan. "Saa, it was a miscommunication. The stakes were that the winner would get a free meal. It was a best three out of five match, so I won."

"What about the staining of your sheets?" demanded Oishi.

"Oh, that? I accidentally pushed Tsuki-chan, and she knocked over the tea." He pointed to the dark patch on the otherwise pristine sheets.

There was so much sweatdropping going on that I'd swear the carpet was drenched.

TSUKI

"Saa… exactly what do you mean by 'we heard you'?" I asked slowly.

The guilt on Eiji's face immediately condemned him. "Ehhh… I never said that, did I?"

"Oh, you most certainly did…" I pinned him with a glare.

He darted behind Oishi. "Help!"

Standing, I walked over to him, smiling a little too sweetly. "Saa, Eiji, have you been spying?" I pushed Oishi out of the way, and Eiji cowered. Draping my arms over him, I pressed one hand to his chest while my free fingers traced his cheekbones. "Spying is not good, Eiji…" I whispered, leaning in close.

In a normal situation, catcalls and whistles would have reached deafening levels by now. This, however, was _not_ a normal situation. Although Fuji and Yukimura were grinning, almost everyone else was watching with something akin to fear.

Eiji's navy eyes were wide and scared; he knew that this was going to be something potentially scarring, whether physically or psychologically it was too early to tell. I cleared up his doubts with a particularly vicious knee-to-the-groin. As expected, he yelled, doubling over in pain.

"OWWWWWWWW!!!!" I could have sworn that the roof rose a few inches; his scream was that loud.

"It was for your own good, Eiji," I told him in a good imitation of Oishi's motherly tone – even if I do say so myself. "I can tell you now, unless I punished you, Fuji would've been more… unforgiving than I. Be grateful I didn't do worse."

FUJI

Just then, the door opened, framing the taut figure of Yuki-chan.

"So, why wasn't I informed that you'd all decided to gather here instead of the lounge?" she inquired in an overly sweet voice. "Well, since everyone's here anyway, I might as well tell you now. My parents have upped and left; they've kicked the bucket; they've gone to heaven or some other afterworld, they're practically _rotting_ in their coffins by now – in other words, they're _dead_. I am _flooded_ with paperwork as a result of this. Therefore, we shall return to Tokyo tomorrow afternoon; most likely we will land in time for dinner. End of story; go pack and I'll see you all tomorrow." Turning, she started away.

Atobe looked shocked. "Her parents…? Ore-sama shall inquire further into this matter," he said, following his cousin.

Seiichi-kun thought for a moment, then headed after them. "See you later, Syuusuke-kun," he called over his shoulder.

"Geez, and we were just having fun too," complained Mukahi. "Right, Kabaji?"

"Usu."

"Poor Yuki-sempai," said Himitsu-chan sympathetically. "She's an orphan now, right?"

Aki-chan adjusted her spectacles. "Technically, she isn't, because she has other relatives like Atobe-san and Saiya-sempai. I would assume that it depends on one's definition of 'orphan'."

"It's a psychological issue, Aki-chan, not a technical one," Tano-chan pointed out.

Niou draped an arm over her. "Fact is, she does seem to be in a terrible mood."

"Yeah… Looks like we're going back to Tokyo earlier than we thought…"

"Maa, it's not so bad. I suppose we all need a break from each other," I commented.

"But this holiday has been so fun! Hyotei and Rikkai all have such weird people –"

"Speak for yourself!"

"Well, they do say that too much of a good thing is not good," observed the ever-fair Yagyuu.

"You're being a spoilsport, Yagyuu."

"For once I agree with baka Bunta-sempai."

"Since when was I a baka?!"

"Always."

"MA-RU-I-SAN!!!" squealed – who else – Jirou.

"Ouch! Gerroff me!!"

Tezuka and Sanada simultaneously massaged their temples and dug in their pockets for their emergency aspirins. They knew all too well that a migraine was on its way.

**A/N: Hehe. The migraine strikes again.**

**I credit the fic 'How to create gossip: Niou and Yukimura style' for this chapter.**

**Reviews are loved. Really.**


	30. Tadaima!

Chapter 30: Tadaima! 

TSUKI

"Ah… home sweet home…" observed Fuji.

"Saa… who would have known you could be so nostalgic?" I grinned.

"It's called acting, Tsuki-chan," he replied, his smile never twitching. "I assume that we've all had more than enough of each other and plan on staying resolutely at home till school starts again and forces us back together?"

I smacked him. "Maybe… your presence in itself is a pest. I shall be sure to stay well out of your way."

"Mou, you know very well that I was joking!" he protested, pouting cutely.

Screech! Halt! Did I say _cutely_?! Scratch that! You didn't see anything!

I laughed at him. "So was I. See you around, then."

His smiled widened slightly. "Ja."

As we parted ways, I reflected that sometimes, closeness was a bad thing. Sad to say, the whole time we took returning to Tokyo, I had had ample time to notice that something was… _different_ between us.

(Flashback)

I blinked and shook myself slightly. This was the umpteenth time I had caught myself watching him out of the corners of my eyes. What in the name of Kami-sama was wrong with me? It wasn't even as if he were doing weird things; presently he was doing Sudoku in a small book he had apparently brought along – Sudoku for Masters, if you must know.

My eyes snagged on the gold highlights that the sinking sun adorned his soft brown hair with. He was so beautiful… at the very thought, I kicked myself and grimly shifted my focus to the bowl of fruits in front of me.

"Saa, are those cherries?" came the soft voice at my side after a moment of enforced silence.

"Obviously they are. What do they look like, miniature apples?"

He laughed. "Atobe sure keeps his plane well stocked… cherries are out of season now, I believe," he commented. "May I have one?"

"Go right ahead," I replied, selecting a peach from the bowl. He reached for the cherries, and I found myself watching in something akin to fascination. How could a boy have such beautiful hands? And why on earth was I suddenly noticing such things?

I felt something tug at my hair. "Ne, Tsuki-chan, you're spacing out," he informed me gently. "Something wrong?"

"I'm okay," I said, taking a firm hold on the uncomfortable feelings and slamming them behind the barricades that I'd built up inside with years of practice. Almost immediately I felt more at ease. I finished the peach.

"These are good; you should try them," he informed me, having just finished off an unsuspecting cherry.

"Okay," I said, obeying. He was right; these were really exquisite. I said as much to him.

Smiling, he just picked another one. "You know, if you don't hurry I'll finish the lot," he remarked.

"Hey! I want them too!" I objected. That started us on a race to see who could get the most cherries. Unfortunately for me, he won.

"Zannen munnen, mata raishuu," he grinned, quoting Eiji's favorite phrase.

I pouted at him. "Mou, you ought to be giving way to the lady."

"All's fair in love and war, dear Tsuki-chan. Don't be sour now… you'll need a facelift before you're twenty," he teased.

"_You_ smile so much that you'll have wrinkles before _you_'re twenty!" I retorted.

He just smiled again and popped a cherry into his mouth.

A little while later, we had collected a large amount cherry stalks and pits. "Go throw them away; you ate more," I commanded him.

"Wait." He took one stalk, playing with it between his fingers. "Did you know that if you are able to tie a knot in a cherry stalk with your tongue, you're considered a good kisser?"

I blinked at him. Random much? "Now where did _that_ come from?"

"I saw it somewhere before…" Still smiling, he put the stalk into this mouth. A short while later, he extricated the now knotted stalk. "See if you can do it," he dared.

Well, I couldn't back down from a challenge could I? Rather reluctantly, I popped a cherry stalk into my mouth.

Tying a knot in a cherry stalk with your tongue is _not_ easy, even though some say it is. It was quite a long while before I succeeded, and triumphantly, I took it out. "There."

"Congratulations. Lets try to improve your speed."

We spent the rest of the plane ride knotting cherry stalks. I must say that I was somewhat grateful to those cherry stalks –I was so preoccupied with them that I stopped myself watching him out of my peripheral vision (though this was, of course, strictly involuntary). And plus I got much better at knotting cherry stalks – meaning that I became a better kisser, if one follows the logic.

(End Flashback)

Sighing, I pushed open the gate of my house. "Tadaima…" I called.

"Saa, you're back. So, would you mind enlightening us as to why your trip ended to abruptly?" inquired my mother, efficiently relieving me of my luggage and ushering me towards the dining room, where my father was already eating.

"So fast? One would think that you already knew that I'd be back early," I commented, obeying her.

FUJI

I smiled at my brother. "Long time no see, Yuuta."

He glared at me, taking his eyes off the video game he was playing. "Not long enough, baka Aniki."

Ignoring the jibe, I headed upstairs to dump my luggage. "Leave your dirty things and those that need dry cleaning downstairs!" called Yumiko-nee-chan. "And hurry up; Mother and I cooked up a welcome dinner!"

"Saa, Nee-san, you really didn't need to," I replied. "It's not like it's such a big occasion."

There was no answer from her, so I continued on upstairs. Yuuta was still playing his video game when I came back down. "Aren't you coming for dinner?" I inquired.

"After I finish this level," he mumbled. Shrugging, I started for the dining room. "Oh, and Nee-san says that she wants to do another tarot reading for you after dinner," he added just before I left.

"Thanks, Yuuta."

Everything here was so normal. It was as if all that had happened in Hokkaido were nothing but a dream.

EIJI

"Hoi hoi! Tadaima nya!" I bounced into my house.

"Ah, Eiji!" My eldest Nee-chan, Reiko, greeted me. "Too bad; you got back earlier than everyone thought. I'm the only one at home now – the rest went to visit Eishiko in Australia and are arriving back on Saturday."

I pouted for a few seconds before sighing. "Well, it _was_ on rather short notice, so it's not their fault."

"You are strangely forgiving today," she remarked.

"What do you mean 'strangely'? I'm _always_ forgiving," I protested.

"If you say so," she replied, smiling. "Check out the fridge; I bought some things especially for you when I knew you were coming back early."

Obeying, I saw a huge lobster sitting in the freezer compartment. "WHOAAA!! Rei-nee-chan I love you!!!" Running back towards her, I gave a flying leap.

Of course, being a part of my family, she knew what was coming and expertly dodged my attempted glomp. "Love you too, Eiji," she answered smoothly as I crashed into the table behind her.

"Mou… that _hurt_, Rei-nee-chan," I complained.

"You know very well that I can and will dodge you when you try to glomp, so just don't do it with such strength and you'll be okay," she replied, helping me up. "Now, how about we start cooking that lobster?"

YUKI

I collapsed onto my bed, staring at the diamond pinpricks of stars framed in the huge French windows. Finally I could rest.

I had been right about the paperwork – I had been swamped almost from the moment the plane landed. Since then, I had been working almost non-stop until now, almost midnight. Really, there was no rest for the wicked.

"I hate you, Kami-sama," I informed the deity. "Really, I do. Why me, of all people?"

There was, of course, no answer. I wasn't expecting one anyway. It was just a way of venting my feelings in a non-violent manner.

It was strange, how unfeeling I could be at times towards my parents' death. It was as if I were just doing some arrangements and playing with the finances, as if at any moment they would arrive home and tell me that I really shouldn't spend so much time alone at home. There was no sharp pain or searing sorrow; all that I had was numbness. Delayed reaction, the psychologists might say. Which would mean that I had a 100 chance of suddenly really realizing what happened and having a nervous breakdown in the middle of school or the mall. What a nice thought.

I still had to plan the funeral, but I was so sleepy… maybe tomorrow…

Sleep washed over me as, as long last, the effects of the day caught up with me.

**A/N: Plotless chapter just to show that everyone got home… I credit the fic 'Cherry Stalks' for Tsuki's flashback. Review please!**


	31. The Very Inopportune Phone Calls

Chapter 31: The Very Inopportune Phone Calls 

TSUKI

Kami-sama was truly a sadist who might even be able to give me, Fuji, and Yukimura combined a run for our money, I reflected, giving a mental sigh of exasperation as I recalled the events of the previous night.

(Flashback)

"Ah, that is so sad. Poor Koori-chan," sympathized Mother, after I finished explaining why we'd had to come back earlier than we'd expected.

"She will be going through a lot of trouble. I expect you to do your best in supporting her," added Father seriously.

I smiled, knowing that that was his way of showing he cared. "Of course, Father."

The corners of his mouth rose slightly. His way of not often showing outward emotion reminded me forcibly of Tezuka. A comfortable silence prevailed as we polished off what was left of the meal. Everyone was in a good mood, even Father – that is, until my cell phone rang.

I frowned at the caller ID, but accepted the call anyway. "What do you want, Fuji?"

"Mou, what's with the bad temper, Tsuki-chan? Yumiko-nee-san just commanded me to ask you over tomorrow. She seems particularly impatient for another tarot reading from you," explained Fuji. I could almost hear the trademark smile in his voice.

Restraining the urge to roll my eyes, I said, "Oh, of course. Who am I to deny the great Yumiko-sama when she wants another tarot reading?"

"Yuuta's home," he wheedled. "And I'm developing the pictures from the holiday – including the blackmail."

"Ah, now _that_'s a different story. I'll be over when I'm awake – you know that means after lunch," I added, just for a laugh.

"Were you afraid I would have forgotten? Oh, I'm touched, just so touched," came the teasing reply.

"You're touched in the head. Perhaps a visit to the asylum is in order," I retorted, enjoying the playful banter. "You'd qualify for sure."

"Oh really? Maybe I should take myself off, then. Anything to make you happy, Hime-san," was the jokingly subservient answer.

Suddenly, I became acutely conscious of my parents' eyes riveted to me, watching like hawks and stretching their ears to hear every word. "Hime-san indeed. Now, may I get back to my dinner?"

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Ja." I ended the call and looked up. "Something the matter, Mother, Father?"

"That was that Fuji boy you were talking about, wasn't it, Kisaki?" Father glanced towards his wife.

Glaring at my mother, I demanded, "What did you say to Father?"

She put on an innocent face. "Only that you've been hanging out with Fuji-kun since you started school here, and you seem to be closer to him than to your female friends."

"And is there anything wrong with that?"

"One should speak with respect to one's parents," reprimanded Father.

I lowered my head in a show of deference. "Sorry, Father."

"Actually, Tsuki, your father and I have been wanting to meet this particular friend of yours for a while. If we know your friends, it will be easier to relate to you," explained Mother.

"Naturally there are also the obvious safety reasons," said Father monotonously. "According to your mother, he seems to be quite a nice boy, but we would like to be sure about such things."

I stared at him, not sure whether to laugh or cry. "… Father, you act as if I'm getting _married_ to him."

To my surprise, Mother folded me in a hug. "You never know, Tsuki… you just might."

(End Flashback)

It had been one of the weirdest conversations I had ever had with my parents. Or that could be an understatement. Not just weird, but awkward. They had exuded a suspicious 'meeting the parents' vibe during the whole discussion, and that had certainly not made things more comfortable. Good Kami-sama, they were acting as if I were _engaged_ to be married!

In the end, they had let me retreat to my rooms to call Fuji again, since they insisted on a change in plans – they wanted Fuji to come and pick me up, so that they could meet him while I 'got ready'. Protective parents could be such a pain in the neck.

So here I was, kicking my heels as I waited impatiently for the great Fuji-sama to grace us with the glow of his presence. Why had he had to call so coincidentally at dinnertime, not just any dinnertime but on the day when my father ate with us? If he'd called when I was safe in my room away from the prying eyes of my parents, this would never have happened. Maybe he did deserve to get interrogated by my protective parents.

FUJI

So, it was the 'meet the parents' session today. How wonderfully coincidental; Yumiko-nee-san had mentioned that plans would not be working out quite as I wanted. This must be such an instance.

Walking my fingers through the clothes in my wardrobe, I pondered on the options available through choice of clothing. After all, looks do give the first impression. Should I show them the 'serious, polite scholar', the 'athletic tennis tensai', or my personal favorite for giving people a jolt first thing in the morning – the 'perfect model of a bishounen'?

I grinned at that last. Tsuki-chan would bring the house down around my ears if I did that. Not that it would diminish the fun factor, of course. Plus, I might get good blackmail.

Then again, she'd have to clean up a lot of mess if I did that, not to mention we wouldn't be able to be together anymore, because the immediate verdict would be 'unsuitable'. Sadly, that counted those eyebrow-raising outfits out.

After some thought, I finally settled on the 'unremarkable guy-next-door' look. It was the safest, and I could always progress to the shocking outfits once they'd gotten the good first impression. It also meant that the house should stay more or less intact, as Tsuki-chan would have no reason to destroy it.

Good thing too, I thought when I arrived. Her house was quite nice; demolishing it would have been a pity. Pushing open the unlocked gate, I walked up the steps and rang the doorbell.

KISAKI

The moment I heard the bell ring, I leapt out of my seat to open it. I was really quite eager to see my pretty daughter's boyfriend. Or, as she kept insisting, her friend – who happened to be a boy. It was the same difference anyway.

When I saw him though, I was taken aback, even after Tsuki had warned me that he was a true-blue bishounen. Somehow I had always treasured the dream of a tall, dark and handsome son-in-law – and this Fuji did not fulfill these requirements.

He was almost as fair as Tsuki herself, and also like my daughter, he was slim and delicate of frame. Even the polite smile and the strange feeling that he was not what he seemed put me in mind of Tsuki. Wasn't 'opposites attract' the law of nature? Well, I suppose Tsuki _would_ have to go against it; that was just the way she was. In this respect, I also got a similar vibe from Fuji-kun.

"Sorry, Fuji-kun, but Tsuki's not ready yet. Do come in; you can wait in the living room," I invited. "I'll bring drinks there."

"Thank you, Hayashi-san. Please excuse me," he said politely.

Well, I couldn't fault him on manners, at least. Watching him out of the corners of my eyes, I noticed that he had that natural grace and casual elegance that I'd thought was exclusive to my daughter. Really, if he'd had silver hair and eyes, I would have wondered whether I had actually given birth to twins and this was Tsuki's long-lost twin brother – as far as I could see, he had much more in common with my daughter than her real brother, Kayuu.

Having gotten the drinks ready before he'd come, I returned perhaps a little sooner than would be completely innocent. As I passed him a glass, his smile seemed to widen slightly – he knew what was going on.

TSUKI

Pressing my ear to the floor, I tried to eavesdrop onto the situation downstairs.

"So, how long have you been seeing Tsuki?" That cheerful voice had to be my mother.

"Saa, I haven't been seeing her as anymore than a classmate," came the light, polite voice that Fuji used around the senseis and higher-ups.

At that precise moment, my cell phone rang. The coincidence of Kami-sama struck again.

Cursing the aforementioned deity in language that would have shocked my parents and earned me the approval of Hyotei's Gakuto, I picked up the phone.

"_Tsuki-chan_!" squealed the person on the other line.

"What do you want now, Miri-chan?" I demanded in a hushed voice, still trying to listen in on whatever was going on downstairs.

"Now, now, Tsuki-chan, is that anyway to treat your favorite cousin?" whined Miri.

"Favorite cousin, my foot. _What do you want_?" I snapped.

"Mou… you meanie, Tsuki-chan…" I could hear the pout in her voice. "Anyway, I was thinking of visiting today! Aunt said you were back from your holiday, so, like, y' know, I thought maybe we should spend some time together –"

"You actually _think_, Miri-chan?" I asked in the most innocent voice I could muster.

She either ignored the obvious criticism or simply didn't recognize it (I personally believed it was the latter) and just continued rambling. " – then, like, I can introduce you to some of the majorly _cute_ guys I know –"

I gave up on the eavesdropping as a lost cause. "Miri-chan, if anyone needs introducing it'd be you. I did spend almost a week with about twenty guys. Almost all of whom have established fan clubs."

"_Whoa_! Who would have thought? And you used to have, like, _zero_ interest in guys…"

"Whoever said I liked them? They're fellow tennis players, that's all," I retorted. "Good Kami-sama, why does _everyone_ think that way?"

"Because we're _normal_ people, and normal people think that way. Not like you – you're the _tensai_, so you think differently. So, can I come over today? I wanna meet those guys! If they have fan clubs they're bound to be total hotties!" Miri was getting all excited already.

This had to be dealt with fast. "Sorry, Miri-chan, but I'm busy. My friend invited me over."

"But, like, I can go with you! I won't be a trouble!" bleated Miri.

"Trust me, you being a trouble is an understatement. Now go away; my friend's waiting." It was true; I could hear the chairs scraping, signifying that those who had been sitting in them had stood up.

"But –" I pressed the 'end call' button, effectively cutting off her protests. As further insurance I blocked her number.

"Really… Sometimes I really can't believe that she's related to me," I grumbled aloud to the room at large.

There was a knock at the door, and my mother came in. "Tsuki, he's waiting," she said, closing the door behind her and turning on me with a strange look in her silver eyes.

"… Mother?" I inquired, rather hesitantly.

Suddenly she grinned. "Oh Kami-sama, he's so perfect!" she exclaimed. "So gorgeous, so well-mannered, so talented! Just like you!"

I could feel a sweatdrop forming. "… Thanks, I think?"

"The problem is, he does seem like a bishounen through and through, which means his sexual preferences may be questionable," she mused, ignoring me. "Well, whatever. Just go along and see what happens!"

The aforementioned sweatdrop now had companions. "… Right…"

"Anyway, he's waiting. Good luck!" With a blindingly bright beam of a smile, she left me to my own devices.

"Sometimes, I can't believe I'm related to _her_, either," I told the empty room. Sighing, I went to freshen up before going downstairs.

FUJI

"Saa… I assume you eavesdropped?" I inquired when Tsuki-chan finally came downstairs.

"I tried," she grumbled. "My intellectually challenged cousin called before I heard anything interesting. She kept bugging me to let her come over."

"Sou ka… What did you say?" I asked, although I was pretty sure of the answer.

She looked at me with not a little incredulity. "Of course I said no. I want to enjoy myself, and when she's around that would be… harder. On top of that, when she heard about our trip to Hokkaido, she immediately wanted me to introduce her to all of you. Talk about a headache!"

I smiled sympathetically. "I see… Maa, I suppose that means that after Nee-san sees to you, we have the whole day off?"

"Hmm… it would seem so; I think my mother expects me to be back not too long after sunset though," she said. "What do you want to do?"

"Let's just play by ear, ne?"

TSUKI

A little while later, after Yumiko had retired for some reason involving the tarot reading she'd just done for me, Fuji and I retreated to his room. Sadly, Yuuta had apparently escaped the house while his brother was getting me, and according to Yumiko he had said that he was going to play street tennis.

"In this weather?" I'd asked incredulously.

"Well, I think he said they have indoor courts now," she'd replied.

When asked whether he had mentioned Mizuki, she had shrugged and said that he'd just run straight out without saying a word.

"Saa… we're to wait till Yumiko-san is done before we can go anywhere, right?" I asked, twirling a strand of my hair idly.

Fuji winced. "Please don't do that. It reminds me too strongly of that purple freak."

"I see…" Sweatdropping, I stopped twirling my hair.

After a moment of silence, Fuji suddenly got off his bed (he'd been on it earlier; I'd been on the floor) and produced a pack of poker cards from one of the drawers. "Ne, want to see who's the best at poker?"

I grinned. "Sure. Be prepared to get beat into the dust."

"I'm looking forward to it," he replied, smiling.

He dealt the cards, and soon we were in a neck-to-neck race.

"What do you have?"

"Full House."

"Zannen munnen, mata raishuu; I've got Straight Flush."

Another hand was dealt.

"Done?"

"Mm. Nine-quad and a King."

"Hah, beat you there. Four Horsemen and a Queen!"

And at that most inopportune moment, Kami-sama decided to present yet another phone call upon me. I groaned as I picked it up. "Why, oh why, does my phone have to ring at the _worst_ possible times?"

Fuji just gave his trademark smile. "Kami-sama's on my side; I just got the Royal Flush."

Grimacing, I spoke into the phone. "Moshi moshi?"

An all-too-familiar Kansai-ben purr answered me. "Konnichiwa, Tsuki-chan. Are you free now?"

"Yuushi…" I wasn't sure whether to laugh or to scream. "No, I'm not."

"Sou ya… and here I was hoping that we could do something together. There's an interesting exhibition just out of town. What _are_ you doing?"

"Homework," I lied immediately.

He detected it at once. "Liar, Tsuki-chan. You finished while we were in Hokkaido."

"Fine. My cousin's coming over, so I need to look after her, and that's why I'm not free." Well, it wasn't really a lie, was it?

Fuji coughed. I suppose he was trying to stifle a laugh, but it was enough to betray me to Yuushi. "Who's that?"

"My mother."

"Tsuki-chan, you're lying and you know that I know you're lying. So stop it and tell me what's going on." He was starting to sound a tad pissed. Not that I could really blame him.

Well, he'd asked for it. Literally. "I'm at Fuji's house."

To my surprise, he didn't shout or get angry in any way. Instead, I could almost hear the smile in his voice. "Fuji's house? Now, now, Tsuki-chan, if you really wanted to date him instead of me, you could just have said so instead of two-timing us. Two-timing is bad, Tsuki-chan…"

"Look who's talking," I retorted. "Womanizer."

"True… Then again, two-timing is only acceptable if you're the two-timer and not the one getting two-timed. So what say we break it off?" He sounded so casual…

I could feel the flush of heat rise at the hint that he didn't care either way. "If you're really so willing to push me away, well, then fine!"

"Glad we finally got that out of the way. Ja, see you around." There was a click as Yuushi – or Oshitari, since he wasn't my boyfriend anymore – ended the call.

**A/N: Complete crap. I think I'm going to get flames for this one… T.T review anyways, though!**

**PS. I hope the poker wasn't too confusing… if it was, search for poker on Wikipedia. That's what I did, anyways. XD**

**PPS: Zannen munnen, mata raishuu is Eiji's catch phrase. It means 'too bad, try again next time' or something to that effect.**

**PPPS: as it's one of the longest chapters, I'll only upload one this time. XD too bad, folks. I don't want to end this story so soon… T.T**


	32. Bimbotism and Acting

Chapter 32: Bimbotism and Acting 

FUJI

"You broke up." It wasn't a question.

She sighed. "I suppose it was pretty obvious, ne?"

Curious, I asked, "Aren't you sad? Or affected in any way?"

"A bit…" She trailed off. "He was the only one who's managed to hold my interest for this long, so far."

"You've had a lot?" I inquired, trying to dismiss the painful nick at my heart at the thought.

"Not really. A lot _tried_. I didn't keep them; they bored me," she explained, smiling almost sadly. "He's a real womanizer. I… I want to _own_ the person whom I love, to have him completely and absolutely to myself. With him, that would be close to impossible."

Her soft grey eyes made her look almost vulnerable. I wanted to touch her, to tell her that it was okay, that I could be hers and hers entirely – that I already was. But I couldn't tell her that – if she wasn't interested in the first place, I'd probably bore her even faster than those previous ones.

Since I made no answer, the room fell silent. It was becoming almost uncomfortable, considering the situation; yet there was nothing I _could_ say.

"Ne, Fuji, shall we go and see how Yuuta's doing?" Tsuki-chan asked suddenly.

I smiled in relief. "Sure."

"Let's go!" Grabbing my wrist, she just about dragged me out.

TSUKI

"Saa… where are we?"

"On our way."

"…We're lost."

"No, we are not. We are somewhere between our starting point and our goal."

"… In other words, we are lost."

I growled. "Why didn't you tell me before we got to… wherever we are now?"

"Hmm… I wanted to see how lost you could get if I didn't say anything," he grinned.

Okay, so we _were_ lost. Did I ever mention that I had a terrible head for directions if I had to travel outside a one-mile radius? No thanks to Fuji either, he could have told me that we were going in the wrong direction instead of just following me!

Glaring at him, I muttered, "Evil."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Turn into that alley over there – it is a shortcut," he informed me.

As I followed him, I grumbled, "You do need to remember I've only been in Tokyo for less than half a year, Fuji."

"Maa, you're doing quite well," he replied, smiling at me.

I suppressed the urge to blush. Why I wanted to blush in the first place was beyond me. And the embarrassment of having gotten us both lost did not help.

Normally, though, I would have laughed it off. I was really acting rather strangely nowadays – I wasn't usually so sensitive. Perhaps it was because of the breakup with Yuushi…

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I never noticed that we had company.

FUJI

My eyes flicked open as I regarded the three thugs that had accosted us halfway down the alley. All brawn and no brains, these guys were gangsters for sure, what with the full-body tattoos and multiple piercings. The smallest of the three – probably the smartest one, too – was staring at Tsuki-chan with lecherous intent.

"Do you have any business with us?" I inquired politely.

The leader barely spared me a glance. "Arh, we do, we do indeed, eh boys?" He nudged his larger companions.

"Umph." Both of them nodded faithfully.

"Saa… I'm sure we'll get along a lot better if I knew what you were talking about," I informed him, trying to ignore the niggling thought that they bore a _very_ strong resemblance to Atobe and Kabaji.

"I'll put it simply, pretty boy. We – " he gestured towards his cronies and himself – " are gonna take this tasty li'l morsel. And you – " here he pointed at me – " will say nothin', 'cause we're gonna take 'er anyway, and you can't do nothin' 'bout it."

"What if I don't agree to go with you?" demanded Tsuki-chan, finally coming out of her reverie.

"Arh, we don't care. You're gonna come with us, girlie, and you c'n forget 'bout your pretty boyfriend. He won't want you when _we_'re through with you." The man laughed evilly. "And he can't stop us, neither. Really, girlie, pretty boys are useless. Now, _me_ – " here he leaned towards her " – I can show you what a _real_ man's like."

I considered informing him of the fact that both Tsuki-chan and I were karate black belts, but discarded the idea. Letting them find out the hard was would be more entertaining. Casually, I stepped away from her to give both of us room to maneuver once the fun started.

To my surprise, she slipped her hand into mine. I glanced at her, raising my eyebrows; she flashed me a look that said, "Act."

MIRI

"Omigawd! She bumped me off because she was on a _date_? Mou, why didn't she just, like, _say_ so?" I cried. "And now, like, I don't get to see her BF!! Kami-sama you baka!!"

"Calm down, Miri-chan, I can assure you that he would meet your approval," soothed Aunt Kisaki. "A more beautiful boy I have never met. And he's quite smart – not just a pretty face, either."

"_Really_?! Nooo… why does Tsuki-chan always get the best?" I complained. "It's so unfair!"

Even though Tsuki-chan'd told me _not_ to come before hanging up on me, I'd come anyway. I mean, like, y' know, it was _so_ obvious that _something_ was up, and, like, mere words will _never_ keep me away from gossip, gloss (lip gloss) or _gorgeous guys_. Those three G's are _so_ my _lifeblood_. The moment I heard that Tsuki-chan had a whole host of them at her, I _so_ had to come and see them! I mean, like, y' know, this was a _golden opportunity_ to get her to make out with someone!

And, like _duh_, I'll get one of the others for my own to play with! How could _anyone_, like, _not_ wanna date _the_ most wanted female sophomore of Koumitsu Gakuen, Kyoto – a. k. a me? Not to mention that I _am_ quite cute, even if I do say so myself. I'll have them quickly enough; with Tsuki-chan and I combined, they'll, like, totally be _panting_ for us. With this situation, what kind of normal girl would _not_ come?

"Ne, Miri-chan – " ventured Aunt Kisaki, breaking through my thoughts. "Is it a new style, or did you smudge your mascara?"

"_What_?!" I shrilled. "OMG!!" Pushing past her, I raced up the stairs, yelling over my shoulder, "Where's Tsuki-chan's room?!"

"Third floor," she replied.

"Thanks!!" I careened around the last turn and burst onto the third floor, making a beeline for the room that looked most like a bathroom.

Seeing my reflection, I screamed. "OHMIGAWD NOOOOOOO!!!" She was right – my mascara was like, totally _ruined_!! I knew that rubbing my eyes when they were itchy had been a _totally_ bad idea! How could I, like, have forgotten that I had on the heavy mascara; the latest Shiseido product I'd bought?!! Luckily I had brought my makeup essentials along with me – like, I'd _never_ go _anywhere_ without them!

It, like, took almost half an hour of work with not j_ust_ the mascara, but _all_ of my makeup stuff, before I judged myself to be presentable. Like, y' know, mascara led to eye shadow led to powder led to blusher led to lipstick. And, like, _just_ when I was done – like, _such_ perfect timing! – the doorbell rang.

TANO

"Hello, Hayashi-san. Is Tsuki-chan home?" I inquired. "I'm her tennis team buchou, Tano Hikari."

The lady, who had the exact same hair and eye color as Tsuki-chan, shook her head. "Sorry, but if you like, you can come in and wait. She should be back soon enough, and I believe her cousin has some things to ask you about in the meanwhile."

Tsuki-chan's cousin? I thought, following her inside. I wonder what she's like. Hopefully she won't be a sadistic tensai as well; the world was suffering an overpopulation of such people.

I was struck dumb when I saw her. A more unexpected person could not be imagined. She had luxurious chestnut-brown curls paired with wide hazel eyes that were framed by long, curling lashes. Although she kept the slim, delicate bone structure of her cousin, she had none of the wiry, flexible muscle under that perfectly cared-for skin. Her hands were utterly unblemished, courtesy of countless manicure sessions; her face had make-up on it that would make a French whore jealous. The practiced, glossy pout, hip-swaying catwalk and affected gestures completed the image of a seasoned bimbo.

"Miri-chan, this is Tano Hikari, Tsuki-chan's buchou," introduced Hayashi-san. "Hikari-chan, meet Tsuki's cousin, Kohashi Miri."

"_Hel_-lo!" squealed Miri-chan, shaking my hand vigorously. "Like, you _totally_ need to tell me _everything_ about what Tsuki-chan has been up to here in Tokyo! She said, like, you'd all been on a camp with _twenty_ hunks and –"

"They're not all 'hunks', I interjected. "Pretty boys, most of them."

"But, like, same difference! They're all _cute_ and _hawt_ and _gorgeous_, ne?!" she cried. "Oh, you _totally_ must tell me!"

"Eto… okay…" I replied, rather freaked by the extreme bimbotism. "What do you want to know first? And remember that I've only known her since she joined the tennis team, so anything before that don't ask."

"Who's her BF? When did she meet him? How long have they been dating? Does he have any cute friends? Can I meet them?" She fired off the questSaiyans, bouncing eagerly.

"Eh… I'm not sure who's her real boyfriend," I admitted. "Eto… can we sit down?"

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry! Please sit!" Gesturing to the sofas in the lounge, she added, "I'll see about some refreshments!"

"There's really no need, Miri-chan –" I began.

"No, like, I _insist_!" She pushed me onto the nearest sofa and headed for the kitchen. "Make yourself comfortable, Hikari-chan!"

I glanced around for Hayashi-san, but apparently she had left once Miri-chan had latched onto me. Probably, she needed a break from the girl. Not that I could blame her – she gave new meaning to the name of 'bimbo'. I could scarcely believe that Tsuki-chan was her _cousin_. Yes, looks-wise they could possibly compete with each other, but character-wise? And, since bimbos were defined as pretty airheads, she was definitely not what you'd call smart.

Miri-chan returned with a tray of drinks and sweet biscuits for snacks. "I'm _so_ sorry for making you wait," she apologized.

I sweatdropped. "No problem, Miri-chan."

"Okay, now you can, like, tell me about Tsuki-chan's BF!" she said excitedly. "You said you don't know who's her _real_ one? Like, what does _that_ mean? Does she, like, have a _lot_ of them or something?"

"Not really, no… Two guys like her, you see – Oshitari Yuushi and Fuji Syuusuke. She is _officially_ dating Oshitari, but she spends most of her time with Fuji. They _should_ have a 'best friends' kind of relationship, but when she started with Oshitari, Fuji got rather pissed off," I explained, trying to get her to see the situation clearly. It _was_ pretty complicated, and even though she was listening avidly, she _was_ a bimbo, and who knows how much she actually absorbed?

She nodded knowingly. "Tsuki-chan is like that. She, like, makes friends with a guy, then the guy falls for her, then she stops being friends with him because, like, she doesn't want that kind of relationship with him. Y' know, as long as I've known her, she's never had a crush on anyone, and like, that includes famous stars who have, like, _everyone_ falling for them. I _totally_ never thought that she'd finally fall for someone!"

"That's just her…" I commented. "She just _has_ to be out of the ordinary. Extraordinarily pretty, extraordinarily talented, extraordinarily smart. It's almost like she's faultless."

Miri-chan shook her head. "No, she's not. Like, she _hates_ mornings. That's, like, the _only_ time you can put one over her. And, like, she's not that great with directions either."

"I know about her aversion to mornings, but not about her being directionally challenged," I remarked.

"Oh, y' know, there's one more thing that she's _really_ bad at. She's, like, _terrible_ at recognizing crushes when people crush on her. But when it's somebody else, she knows _immediately_. Like, it's just so _weird_."

I nodded. Now, _this_ was an interesting development. "Would you say that she wouldn't be able to recognize a crush on her if it danced naked in front of her wearing the latest Jimmy Choo heels?"

"Yes! That puts it _so_ perfectly!" she exclaimed. Lowering her voice, she added, "Y' know, I've always thought that she suffers from overwhelming virginity. That'd explain everything!"

_Major_ sweatdrop. "Overwhelming virginity…"

"Yup, that's what I said," she nodded, her face perfectly serious. "Anyway, I, like, still haven't finished asking you questions! Are the guys around here cute? Can I meet them?"

"Well… that pretty much depends on your opinion of cute," I stalled. "But the boys' tennis team at school has truckloads of fangirls, so I assume that they are considered 'cute' by the majority."

"Ohmigawd, now I _totally_ need to meet them!" she squealed. "And, of course, we _must_ get her together with _the one_."

Suddenly, inspiration struck. "Hey, I just remembered that most of the members of the teams in Tokyo go to the street tennis courts near here. Want to check them out?"

"Will there be cute guys?" she asked.

"Of course," I replied, taking a gamble. "Let's go and ask Hayashi-san for permission."

**A/N: Pointless chapter, really. Why Miri is in there is beyond me too… T.T I think my writing gets progressively worse from this chapter on…**

**Review anyway, please…**


	33. How Many Relationships?

Chapter 33: How many relationships? 

TSUKI

I dusted myself off. "Saa… they were even less of a challenge than I'd thought."

Fuji sighed dramatically. "Sad, isn't it – seems that our expectations were too high…"

(Flashback)

"Wh-what do you mean?" I asked, voice trembling in apparent fear, clinging tight to Fuji's arm and trying to ignore the slight shiver I got at the touch.

"You're gonna come quiet-like with us, girlie –" the man grinned, showing yellowed teeth, " – and we promise not t' be too rough with you lat'r."

Pretending fear, Fuji backed away, pulling me along. "No – don't do that –"

"Arh, enough of this stupid chatting. Boys, hold on t' the pretty boyfriend. I'll get th' girlie." With that, the leader lunged towards me while his cronies went for Fuji.

Immediately, we both dropped our pretence and moved apart, so that we would have more room to maneuver. As the leader came at me, I ducked beneath his grab, slammed a fist into his solar plexus, and then stamped hard on his manly treasures when he fell from that blow. Hey, nobody said that hitting below the belt was against the rules here.

Fuji had efficiently incapacitated both of the larger men, though exactly how he did it I had no notion – I had been busier with my end of things. However, the fact was that now those who had attacked him were out for the count, while their leader was whimpering in pain at my feet, his breath making clouds in the chilly air.

"Nice job, Fuji," I told him.

"Same to you. He's not going to be able to walk properly for a week," he smiled.

(End Flashback)

Looking down at the leader, I smiled. "You know, if _that_ was what a real man is like, I think I'll stick to my pretty boy here," I said conversationally.

My only reply was a slightly louder moan. Behind me, Fuji grinned at him. "I'd say the pretty boy won this round. Tsuki-chan, let's get going; we've wasted enough time on these good-for-nothings already."

TANO

I sweatdropped. "Miri-chan… that is a bit – fancy – for the street tennis courts, you know."

"But I, like, y' know, _must_ look my best if we're gonna meet cute guys!" she reasoned. "And this is, like, _so_ perfect!"

Unbelievingly, I took in her appearance again. She'd changed into a _miniskirt_ and a _tube_ top. Pink, for the record. And three-inch heeled, thigh-high boots to top it off. This ensemble just reminded me – not that I _needed_ reminding – that she was a bimbo, through and through; only bimbos went out wearing this outfit in _winter_. Any normal person would have worn jeans and a long-sleeved top with sneakers, like me.

"I hope you're planning to wear a jacket," I said resignedly.

She flashed a brilliant smile. "Of course! See? I bought this really _cute_ shrug just, like, yesterday! Don't you like it?"

I blinked at the white, short-sleeved, fine-wool shrug she'd just pulled on. "Do you seriously think that'll keep you warm?"

"Well, we're, like, going in the car, right?" she replied. "Not _walking_!"

Talking as if to a small child, I said, "We _are_ walking, Miri-chan. I really think you should wear something more practical."

She pouted. "I want a car."

"Then get one. What did _you_ come in?" I retorted.

"Taxi. Yes, that's _it_! Why don't _you_, like, get a taxi, then come back and pick me up?" Eagerly, she started pushing me towards the door. "Then everything will be perfect!"

I sighed deeply. This was _not_ going to be easy.

MIRI

I climbed out of the taxi while Hikari-chan paid. "Thanks for the ride, Hikari-chan!"

The taller girl winced. "Kindly stop calling me 'Hikari-chan'; I'm more used to 'Tano-chan' or just 'Tano"."

"But we're, like, friends, aren't we? We don't need to be so formal," I reminded her.

"Even so, I'd really rather not," she replied, crossing the outdoor courts.

Shivering, I followed. "Whoa, there sure is, like, a _lot_ of courts here," I observed. "Tennis must totally be _the_ sport around here." When she didn't answer, I continued, "Like, not that I mind. Y' know, I've always thought that, like, though basketball players are _so_ nice and muscled and macho and all, tennis players are just totally _hot_."

Tano-chan winced again. She seemed to like doing that a lot. "Maybe they are, but just don't let any basketball players hear that." Pushing the door of the new-looking building open, she led the way in.

A flood of noise engulfed us almost immediately. Ohmigawd, there's _so_ many cute guys here! I thought, looking around while trying to close my ears to the very loud conversations.

"An-chan, you _can't_ date _him_! _Anyone_ but him!" yelled a redhead with frenzied eyes and a long fringe.

"Whaddya mean, anyone _but_ him?!" demanded a tall guy with spiky black hair.

"Boys, calm down," said the carrot-topped girl who was standing between them.

"Why they are always arguing over An-chan is really beyond me. After all, she isn't even all that pretty. Maybe it's because she's Tachibana-san's sister, so they're trying to curry favor. But then again, it's also An-chan's fault. She shouldn't have brought Momoshiro here on a date when she knew that Kamio and I would be practicing and that Kamio would get angry…" rambled a nearby, pale-skinned blunette. I sweatdropped; he'd be cuter if he wasn't so weird.

"Momo-sempai, I'll be going now," came the bored voice of a small boy with a white cap on his head. "I don't want to interrupt your date."

"IT'S NOT A DATE!!" shouted the spiky-haired guy.

"Momo, don't get so worked up," said a person whose head was shaped like an egg. "You'll get high blood pressure when you get older!"

"Good Kami-sama!" exclaimed Tano-chan abruptly. "What on _earth_?!"

"What happened, Tano-chan?" I asked, puzzled.

The girls' team buchou was frowning. "She never said a word, that little baka," she said, ignoring me.

"_What happened_?!" I repeated, inserting a whine into my voice for attention.

She shook her head. "Sorry, but I'll have to abandon you for a moment. Just talk to the guys; they're friendly enough…" With that, she strode away.

I pouted. "Mou… she's _so_ evil… now what should I do…?"

Suddenly, a hand appeared on my shoulder. "Hello, pretty lady," purred a Kansai-ben voice. "And who might you be?"

Turning, I saw a tall blunette wearing round, frameless glasses. "I'm Kohashi Miri; who're you?" I said, as calmly as I could while inwardly screaming, "OHMIGAWD HE'S SOOO HAWT!!"

"Oshitari Yuushi, at your service," he replied, sweeping an elegant bow.

Oh, so _he_'s the one Tsuki-chan's _officially_ dating, I remembered. Whoa, she has good choice! No wonder she fell for him! "You're Tsuki-chan's boyfriend, aren't you? I'm her cousin," I clarified.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? No wonder… Oh, I'm not her boyfriend anymore. We just broke up."

"Really? That's so sad," I said sympathetically, though inside I was like "So, does that mean I can have him?"

TSUKI

"And now, we _finally_ arrive," observed Fuji.

"There was no need for the emphasis on _finally_," I grumbled.

Smiling, he patted my shoulder. "Just teasing."

I ignored the ripple of goose bumps that flowed from his touch, pushing open the door of the newly built indoor courts. Hormones, I told myself, just plain old irritating teenage hormones.

The familiar deluge of sound washed over us as we entered. Well, the Tokyo tennis players were definitely good at creating chaos; you had to hand it to them.

"You (bleep) asshole!" yelled a familiar emo-kid redhead whom I recognized as Kamio. "An-chan deserves _so_ much better than you!"

"Why thanks, I think," muttered An, who looked to be getting rather pissed off.

"You! Kamio, was it? Puny mortals from Fudomine should not burn Ore-sama's ears with such crude language!" came the imperious voice of the one and only Ore-sama – Atobe Keigo.

"PUNY MORTALS??!!! YOU (BLEEP)ING (BLEEP) –" roared the Fudomine player in question.

"_Kamio_!!" shouted An, finally losing it.

"Ah, gomen gomen, An-chan," he said, much subdued.

"Oh, the purple freak is still clinging to my brother," muttered Fuji from behind me. "I need to go and rescue Yuuta. Don't mind, Tsuki-chan?"

"I'm okay," I replied, scanning the room. "I want to know what Himitsu-chan is doing with Choutarou-kun anyway." Then, catching sight of an unpleasantly familiar figure, I cringed. "Oh I hate you Kami-sama…"

Miri-chan had come before us, and was currently flirting outrageously with my boyfriend – no, _ex_-boyfriend. Good Kami-sama, any more and she might was well be doing a pole dance for him. And he didn't seem to mind, either.

Well, it's nothing to do with _me_ anymore, since I've officially dumped him, I reminded myself The slut also known as my cousin would suit that womanizer much better than I would.

"Hoi sa, Tsuki-chan!" called a familiar voice.

"Yo, Eiji," I greeted the redhead. "When did my cousin arrive?"

His brow furrowed in thought. "Nya, I don't know. Less than half an hour, I think. She's your _cousin_?!"

I nodded. "Mm. Why?"

"B-but she's _all over_ Oshitari!" he exclaimed. "Doesn't she know that he's _your_ boyfriend?"

"He's not," I replied. "I just dumped him."

EIJI

My eyes widened. "_Nani_?! You _dumped_ him?!"

Tsuki-chan shrugged. "Yes, well, it's not such a big thing anyway. Miri-chan is welcome to have him."

"Nya, so her name is Miri-chan?" I repeated. "Kawaii!"

"Oh no, do _not_ do that, Eiji," she reprimanded. "I try not to let it be known that she's my cousin. She is the world's most bimbotic bimbo. Seriously."

"Hoi? You're right; that really doesn't sound like someone related to you," I commented. "Where's Fujiko-chan? I saw him just behind you when you came in –"

"He went to rescue Yuuta from Mizuki," she said, gesturing in the general direction of the aforementioned people. "I wanted to go and see Himitsu-chan, so I didn't go with him."

"Oh, I see. Himitsu-chan is over there," I told her, pointing. "Shall I come with you?"

Just then, I heard Oishi calling me. "Eiji! Mukahi-kun wants a doubles match against us!"

Smiling, Tsuki-chan said, "Obviously you are needed elsewhere. Good luck for the match." With a flash of her silver hair, she turned and headed for her teammate.

"Coming, Oishi," I called back to my doubles partner. As I hurried towards him, I wondered at the fact that Fujiko-chan and Tsuki-chan had come together. What had they been doing before? Would they become a couple now that Oshitari-san was out of the picture? I would have to ask Inui about this!

**A/N: another pointless chapter… I already said that it gets worse, didn't I? Please review… please… I'm begging… T.T**


	34. Seeing but not Believing

Chapter 34: Seeing, but not Realizing 

TANO

"Good Kami-sama, she's dating Ootori?!" repeated Tsuki-chan.

"You heard me," I replied.

"I never noticed a thing!" she exclaimed. "Was it very obvious?"

"Not really, but I'm sure that if we'd been paying attention, we would have seen it," I said, sighing. "According to Shinjutsu-chan, her twin started to fix on Choutarou-kun while we were in Hokkaido. I know that I for one was too – busy – to pay her much attention, so I didn't become aware of what was going on outside of my relationship, Yuki-chan's relationship and your relationship, because they were so much more interesting and complicated. Those two were just too quiet for just to notice them much."

Flopping down into the bench beside me, she too sighed. "Complicated relationships; that's an understatement. I just broke up with Yuushi."

I nodded. I had thought that it would happen sooner or later. "He got jealous of Fuji-kun?"

She blinked at me. "Why on earth would you be thinking that?"

"Because although you're his official girlfriend, you spend so much more time with Fuji," I reminded her. "Even if you insist that he's just your best friend, he's bound to start feeling insecure, especially when he knows how close the two of you are."

"He is my _best friend_," she said rebelliously. "I don't get why people just _cannot_ accept that a girl and a boy can have a _platonic_ relationship."

I shook my head slowly, trying to phrase myself properly. "Tsuki-chan… why don't you just _try_ to see him differently? Right now you can only see him as a friend, and you think that he sees you as such too. But you'll never know, would you?"

"I'm afraid I don't quite follow you," she said, smiling politely. "What would I not know?"

"You'd never know whether you could become more," I explained. "And that's because of your characters. You both conceal your feelings behind poker faces; you're not exactly spontaneous. Tell me, how would you know whether or not Fuji likes you as more than a friend?"

The surprise in her eyes was evident. "Of course he doesn't. I'd know if he does."

"Answer the question, Tsuki-chan. _How_?" I prodded.

"I'm not too sure myself, but it's like I just _know_ what he's thinking – because I'm thinking the same…" She struggled to make me understand what she was trying to say. "I know what he feels, because I feel the same. If something amuses me, it'll amuse him. I don't know _why_ it's like that; it just _is_."

"That in itself shows that you have some kind of connection, doesn't it?" I pointed out.

"But isn't the rule 'opposites attract'? We're way too similar – " she began.

I cut her off. "In case you didn't notice, almost everything about you two defies the rules. Just try, Tsuki-chan. What do you have to lose?"

TSUKI

It took quite a lot of effort to keep my poker face on. Why on _earth_ did everyone want to believe that I liked Fuji and that we were a couple? Had nobody every heard of _platonic_ relationships?

But the bigger problem was that Tano-buchou actually made sense. That was what needled me the most. That understanding between him and me was just not normal. But love was even _more_ abnormal. Or was it?

Why did I so often find myself watching him out of the corner of my eyes? Why did I suddenly start noticing the casual grace of his walk and the gentle sweep of his hair? Why did I abruptly get shivers down my backbone at an accidental brush of his fingertips against my skin?

She was right. I'd used the reminder that he was a friend to stop myself from thinking further. Yet, none of it was at all useful if he was doing the same – or if he truly did only think of me as a friend.

What did I have to lose? His friendship. I'd lost too many friendships because the other person saw me as more than a friend. Those broken relationships laid wounds deep inside me, bleeding sluggishly behind the cold façade I showed the world.

Yet, wasn't that the same for him? He, too, hid behind a veneer of smiles and coolness; he'd only let his guard down – well, as much as he could – when he was truly exhausted, sick… or when he thought nobody would see.

I could predict him because he mirrored me; we were so similar. However, in this aspect… in this once aspect, I had no notion. As everyone knows, similarity is not congruence. If he _did_ mirror me, it would be so perfect – but nothing is perfect in this world.

FUJI

Gesturing at the courts, .I asked, "Saa, Yuuta, do you want to play?"

To my surprise, he shook his head. "I'd rather see you and Tsuki-chan play doubles again."

I stared at him. "Why?"

"Because I know I'd get trashed by you!" he growled. "Stop rubbing it in, will you! Not to mention that watching you two play together is really something – no, forget what I said; you didn't hear anything! I'm going now. Maybe I'll catch Nee-san before her flight." He turned and stomped off towards the exit.

"Tell her I said bye," I called after him, heading to the bright silver glow that marked Tsuki-chan.

She seemed to be deep in thought. Great, an opportunity! Glancing at Tano-san, who was sitting next to her, I put a finger to my lips to silence her. Grinning, she nodded slightly.

Stealthily, I crept up behind her, then quickly covered her eyes. "Guess who?"

"Fuji, you know very well that I know it's you," she retorted, easily twisting out of my grasp.

I smiled innocently. "Maa, it still proves that I can sneak up on you."

Tano-san stood up, covering a smile. "Ne, Tsuki-chan, I'm going to see what Himitsu-chan and Ootori-kun are up to. Ja." She walked off purposefully.

Trying – and failing – to glare at me, Tsuki-chan sighed. "I'll pay you back one day, you know."

"I'm looking forward to it," I replied easily. "Want to play?"

"Doubles or singles?" She looked slightly skeptical.

"Doubles, against Eiji and Oishi if they're free," I said. "Come on, you know you want to…"

Unexpectedly, she didn't struggle when I tugged her off the bench and onto the court. "Let's see how we do against the Golden Pair."

Something had happened. Why was she wearing her poker face in front of me again, when she'd stopped months ago? Was she closing me out again? Oh please, anything but that…

**A/N: Someone kill me. This chapter is cringeworthy. T.T but please review anyways.**


	35. I'd Never Know Otherwise

Chapter 35: I'd never know otherwise 

TSUKI

So now I knew why there was that strangeness between us. I loved him. I wanted him. But the question was – did he want me too?

Some things I was better off not knowing. Perhaps I could just pretend that yes, we were lovers, while in actuality we were just friends. As long as I had no answer, I could hope. I could believe. But once the answer was there, there were no two ways about it. It was either a yes or a no, no middle ground, no sitting on the fence. And if the answer were negative, I would be dealt another excruciating blow from the cruel hands of fate.

Should I tell him? But how? A direct confession seemed too demeaning, too desperate, too much like begging. And I would never beg, not even from him. I still had my pride. An indirect, roundabout way was more my style, how does one confess in an indirect manner? All in all, telling him would be difficult.

But if I didn't tell him, I had a strong feeling that he wouldn't tell me either. He had his pride, too. Sometimes similarities were not good. If either of us had the humility to toughen our skin and submit ourselves to the mercy of the other, this would not be happening. Yet, somehow, this made it all the more interesting.

FUJI

I smiled at Eiji. "You two are just too good."

"Hoi hoi, of course! We are Seigaku's Golden Pair, after all!" Eiji bounced towards the net, dragging Oishi along. "Nya, who do you want to play next, Oishi?"

"Eiji, don't you think we ought to rest first? You especially!" worried Oishi, motherly as always.

"Mou, but I want to –" protested Eiji.

Leaving the pair of them to argue, I looked at Tsuki-chan. "Tsuki-chan, you seem preoccupied."

"Hm?" She looked slightly confused, then her poker face slid back into place. "Well, we just lost, didn't we? It's normal to be a bit out of it after losing. I'm thirsty; let me go get some water."

As she walked towards the bench where our things were, I frowned slightly after her. She'd been out of it for the whole match, not just after we lost. Oddly, during this match, we weren't as synced as we had been before, when we'd played against Hyotei. It was the reason we'd lost in the first place – we'd lost to the Golden Pair four games to six.

Not to mention the fact that she seemed to be trying to avoid me… but why would she? I hadn't said a word at all. Unless she suspected, there shouldn't be any reason to do that.

A very impractically dressed girl, who I had noticed earlier flirting for all she was worth with Oshitari, made her way over to Tsuki-chan, clinging to Oshitari's arm and effectively dragging him along. "Tsuuukiiiiiiiiiii-chaaan!! Why didn't you come and say hi to your dear beloved cousin?!" she sang.

Now _that_, I thought, amused, was someone I'd never imagine would be related to Tsuki-chan. A more perfect model of a bimbo I had never seen.

Tsuki-chan glared at the girl. "I am _not_ related to you. Get that into your head."

"Mou, Tsuki-chan, how can you have forgotten your _favorite_ cousin Miri?" pouted the girl.

"Favorite cousin, my eye," retorted Tsuki-chan. Standing up, she strode over to me. "Come on, Fuji. We're leaving."

"Maa, Tsuki-chan, you didn't even introduce me to your cousin and now you want to leave? Shame on you!" I teased her. "Maybe you're jealous…"

She glared at me. "Why in the name of Kami-sama would I be jealous of the new girlfriend of one of my castoffs?"

Her cousin, Miri-chan I had guessed, turned to me and gave me a once-over. Then she fluttered her eyelashes, leaning over towards Tsuki-chan. "Ne ne, Tsuki-chan, who's _he_? Ohmigawd he's _so kawaiiiiii_!!" she said in a stage whisper that all of us heard.

Elbowing her cousin _hard_, Tsuki-chan grabbed my arm. "We're leaving. Now." With that, she just about yanked me out of the courts.

MIRI

"Mou, Yuushi-kun, who _was_ that?" I pouted. Tsuki-chan was, like, _so_ mean for just brushing me off like that! But that boy was _totally_ cute. Not hot like Yuushi-kun, but definitely cute.

"Fuji Syuusuke," he replied. "Tennis tensai of Seigaku – the male one, anyway. Tsuki-chan dumped me for him."

I stared at him in surprise. "You don't seem to mind!"

"I don't; I knew it was coming anyway," he said, shrugging. "And plus, I much prefer what I have _now_."

Coyly, I looked away. "You're too nice, Yuushi-kun…"

I felt a hand slip beneath my blouse, and saw him smirk. "Of course. Don't you like it when I'm nice?"

FUJI

"Why were you in such a rush to get out of there?" I inquired.

"Good Kami-sama, to be _recognized_ as her cousin is bad enough, don't you think?" she demanded.

I had to agree. "I'd never have thought she was related to you."

She nodded vigorously. "My point exactly. Ne, Fuji…"

I cocked my head on one side. "Yes?"

"… where are we?" Looking around, she frowned in confusion.

"Saa… I wish I knew, too…" I said on purpose, just to tease her, scanning the area. "You got us lost again, didn't you?"

"Shut it. You know very well that I have no head for directions and yet you choose to follow me," she retorted.

"Maa, I didn't get to choose. You dragged me," I pointed out.

"You could have resisted!" she defended herself.

I grinned. "I wanted to see how lost you could get this time."

Scowling, she reached over poked me, hard. "Baka. You already know how directionally challenged I am."

"Let's go back," I suggested, smiling.

A short while later, we were on the road outside her house. Although I had pretended to be lost, I _had_ known the way back and had simply wanted to pull her leg.

"Today was fun, ne?" I commented.

"No, it most certainly was not. I broke up with Yuushi; my bimbotic cousin came over; you discovered that I have no head for directions. In what way is any of _that_ fun?" she complained.

"It was fun because it was you who went through all that while I observed," I replied, ducking the punch she swung at me.

"Stop teasing, or I shall avoid you for the rest of my life," Tsuki-chan threateningly poked me in the chest, leaning in to make her point; her face inches away from my own.

Sudden adrenaline flooded my veins; thoughts raced through my mind. She'd broken up with Oshitari. I could perhaps pass this off as an accident, and I definitely couldn't pass up this opportunity to find out, once and for all, whether she could return my feelings.

"Tsuki-chan…"

YUKI

"Koori-sama, by the rites of propriety, the funeral for your esteemed parents should be held within the week," the master of protocol informed me. "I would strongly advise you to begin sending out invitations to their important business partners, colleagues and acquaintances, not forgetting your own family members."

I groaned inwardly. Why did everything have to be so rushed? Outwardly though, I held my head high as I replied, "I shall proceed to do so immediately when I receive the appropriate lists of required guests from you. Please cause them to be brought to me before the end of the day."

He bowed. "It shall be done as you say, Koori-sama. With your leave, I shall hereby remove myself to carry out your orders."

"You may take your leave," I said imperiously. "I shall now retire to my rooms. Nobody is to disturb me there unless the matter is of exceeding importance."

Bowing again, he left. I walked through one of the side doors of the receiving room – obviously, it was the room where I received people – and locked it behind me, collapsing onto the sofa of my new room, which had been my parents' private suite.

The master of protocol had insisted that the master, or in my case mistress, of the house stay in the master suite – to quote him, "This is what is required of your status, Koori-sama, and it is much more befitting. The mistress of the house should not sleep in the room of a child." I'd wanted to tell him that I _was_ still a child and had every right to sleep in my own room, but when the head butler and matron-in-chief (the man who takes care of all the male servants and the lady who takes care of all the female servants in my household respectively) had both agreed that I should stay in the master suite, I had given in.

Truly, the master of protocol wielded more power in my house than I did. He dictated where each servant stood, sat, and slept according to their ranks; he practically told me what to do, all in the name of etiquette and manners. A more finicky, meticulous person I have never met, yet at the same time I admit that it is due to him that no member of my family has ever been able to be criticized on protocol in public.

It was hard, being the young mistress of a household. I had to keep up the façade of cool professionalism, as if I knew exactly what was going on, even when my master of protocol was giving whispered instructions just behind me to do this, do that, not do this, not do that. Everything had to look polished and practiced, including talking to my parents' business associates who had come to offer their condolences and to give the new mistress of the Koori businesses a sizing up.

If only I had some people at the funeral with whom I could be me – just Yuki-chan, not Koori-sama.

TSUKI

Staring at the ceiling, I beat myself over the head for the _n_th time. Why hadn't I responded?

(Flashback)

"Tsuki-chan…"

I watched, half afraid, half hypnotized, as his eyes flickered open. Surely I hadn't originally drawn in so close. Whether I had or not, though, the thought vanished along with all others as I drowned in the brilliant cerulean blue of his eyes.

There was a warm pressure as his lips brushed against mine. Just lips on lips, nothing more, yet at the same time, so much… I smelled the faintly remembered scent of vanilla – where did that memory come from? – along with the reassuringly human hints of sweat from the earlier tennis. A hand slid around my waist; another, up to my head, burying itself in my hair, holding us both absolutely still, as if this connection was the only thing that existed in the universe…

If I hadn't known before, I knew now. I never wanted him to let go. I melted against him, feeling the warmth against my whole body, sharply contrasting with the cold around us. Every part that touched him directly burned.

It was broken all too soon. Pulling away, he stared at me, his eyes searching for answers. All I could do was stare back, my mind drawing a blank. Unfortunately, he took my silence and shock as a refusal.

"I'm sorry, Tsuki-chan. Forget that this ever happened."

(End Flashback)

I couldn't even blame Kami-sama. It was my fault, and my fault entirely. I knew it, even though I hated it.

He'd walked away. _Walked away_. And he hadn't even looked back, not _once_. All I'd needed to do was to catch him before he was gone, to call his name – but no, I'd been too astounded, too shocked, too… scared?

Scared of what? Scared of the way these powerful feelings had blown our friendship away? Scared of how he might change towards me? I didn't know.

Turning over on the bed, I touched a hand to my lips. I had never imagined that another's could feel so soft; he had been so gentle. Others who had tried had always been rushing, rough – this feeling that I was something precious was a welcome change.

He'd said to forget it, but that was one thing I could never do. I wondered at the slow drops that fell from my eyes.

FUJI

I shouldn't have done that, I thought for the millionth time. The friendship that we'd both treasured was torn asunder by that reckless action on my part. It was completely my fault, and I couldn't even blame Kami-sama or any other deity.

She'd most likely start avoiding me. I couldn't blame her… but the shock I had seen in her soft grey eyes had truly cut me to the quick.

So, in the end, she didn't feel that way. I had forced her into that kiss… I stared at the ceiling, dry-eyed – tears were too superficial to express this terrible feeling of rejection.

**A/N: I just died after reading this chapter… Review anyway please…**


	36. Avoiding the Subject

Chapter 36: Avoiding the subject 

TANO

"Stupid," I scolded myself again. One thing had led to another, and in the end, I'd forgotten to tell my team what I had originally planned. I'd wanted to tell them all together, but now I resigned myself to call them individually – my outdated cell phone didn't have the capability of conference calls.

Flipping through my address book, I located Tsuki-chan's number. Dialing it, I waited for her to pick up. Surprisingly, she took her time about it.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Hello, Tsuki-chan. I'm calling about Yuki-chan," I said. Strange – why did her voice sound clogged?

"What about her?" Yes, definitely clogged.

"Her parents just died, remember? And is there something wrong with you?" I was rather concerned, because Tsuki-chan really wasn't the type to get a cold when she'd been perfectly healthy less than two hours ago.

"Hmm? Me? I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Why did that kind of clogging sound so familiar?

Suddenly I remembered. "You sound like you've been crying."

"I'm not," she said, and being who she was, she could say it _very_ convincingly.

I decided to let it go for now. "She's invited us for the funeral."

TSUKI

I almost forgot the reason behind my tears when I heard that. "_What_?!"

Any normal person would _not_ want a large group of teenagers very prone to hyperness around at a funeral. Yuki-chan must have taken a harder blow than we'd originally thought.

"You heard it. She called me earlier to help her tell our team and the boys' team. I think she's personally invited Rikkaidai, and Atobe would naturally bring his team along too," said Tano. "It's going to be held tomorrow at the Koori mansion; she's arranged for transport for us. You know what to wear."

"Mm," I affirmed.

"Well, I have to hang up now; I need to call the others. Ja."

"Ja," I replied. Well, at least I had some kind of distraction now… no, wait, the boys' team had also been invited. Groaning, I buried my head in my pillows. Why couldn't Kami-sama give me at least the few days until term began to try to sort myself out? Meeting Fuji again was _not_ going to do me any good. I'd been planning to avoid him as much as I could – well, it seemed that my hopes had been dashed. Again.

Well, it seemed that the only solution would be to boycott the funeral. No matter how guilty I felt for not being there for Yuki-chan.

FUJI

My cell phone ring tone woke me up much earlier than I would have liked. Normally, during winter, I preferred to sleep in because it just felt so nice to sleep warm while temperatures outside were below freezing.

Blearily, I reached for the phone, mumbling, "Moshi mosh…"

"Fuji." It was Tezuka. Who else would call at such an unearthly hour?

"Hurry up with whatever you called about, Tezuka. I still want to sleep, even if you don't," I informed him, yawning widely. So cold…

"Tano-san informed me last night that Koori-san has invited our team to her parents' funeral," he said without preamble. "She has invited her own team as well, and very likely Hyotei and Rikkaidai too."

"I see…" I curled myself even deeper into my sheets.

"It will be held at the Koori mansion on the outskirts of town tomorrow. I expect you to be present in the appropriate attire for attending a funeral," said Tezuka. "Transport has been arranged for us, so don't worry about that. Ja, I need to call the others."

"Ja," I replied. Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was already past eight. Since there was no point in remaining in bed as I would have to be up by half-past anyway, I crawled out from the warm covers, shivering slightly as the cold air met my skin.

After I'd freshened up and eaten breakfast, I went to check my wardrobe for 'appropriate attire for attending a funeral'. Then suddenly I remembered some of the details that Tezuka had mentioned regarding the funeral. "She has invited her own team as well."

I felt sick to the stomach. Tsuki-chan would definitely go – Yuki-chan was her closest female friend. If I attended, I'd have to meet her again, and that would not be good on either part.

It would seem that I could not go to Yuki-chan's funeral, for the sake of our sanity.

YUKI

Taking a deep breath, I composed myself. Today was my parents' funeral, and thus I would have to entertain the crowd of relatives, colleagues and business associates that I had invited for the sake of keeping good relations with them.

At least Keigo-chan had been helping me out. My mother had been his aunt; he too felt the loss. He'd promised to do what he could, which was a _lot_, since he knew most of the guests from his father's business parties that he had had to attend. My father had never really been one for parties, and generally held them only annually or biannually, unlike Keigo-chan's father who held parties almost weekly, if not monthly, which meant that he'd associated with them a lot more than I had.

Of course, I had to put up all those foreign businesspeople who had had large investments in our business or in whose businesses we had large investments, as well as relatives living in other countries or islands. Some of the more considerate had opted for hotels, but most expected me to provide accommodations – in other words, let them stay in the mansion. I didn't mind giving them a roof over their heads, but I _did_ mind having to be immaculately dressed and on my best behavior at all times because I was literally living with them and the etiquette master would never let a Koori look sloppy, particularly not when she is the hostess. I took pleasure in the fact that this pressured them as much as it did me.

Only the thought that my friends would be coming too kept me sane. I'd told them to come an hour beforehand, so they should be arriving any minute now. Staring out of my windows at the driveway, I waited in anticipation for the limos I had ordered to fetch them.

I had to wait an unexpectedly long time for my limos to show. How odd… I knew all the captains were very strict about punctuality. When they _did_ finally make an appearance, I glanced at the maid who was on duty on me for now. "Please bring the recently arrived guests to me," I said aloofly. She curtseyed deeply and scurried off, carrying out my order fairly quickly – they were brought to my rooms within a few minutes.

Just the sight of my friends made me feel better. I dismissed the maid immediately and told her that I was not to be disturbed except in case of an emergency, at least until the real guests came. Once she'd left, I locked the door for good measure.

Turning to my friends, I smiled a real, cheerful smile for what felt like the first time in years, though in actuality it had only been a few days. "I'm so happy you could make it, everybody."

Keigo-chan, who had brought the rest of Hyotei in his own limo, shook his head indignantly. "Did you actually think I'd let anyone on my team skip out, arn?"

Seiichi smiled, softly, warmly. "We know that you need us here beside you."

"As do we. We're your team; we stand with you," said Tano-buchou firmly.

Tezuka simply nodded, which, from him, probably meant more than he could have said aloud. Now that I was no longer one of his fangirls, I could see clearly that he had no way with words at all.

Beaming happily, I hugged my friends and teammates. "Thank you. You have _no_ idea how grateful I am for you people, to keep me sane through this…" I trailed off, noticing that two people were missing. "Are? Where are Tsuki-chan and Fuji-kun?"

Tano-buchou looked rather guilty. "They didn't show up... We tried to call their cell phones and their house phones – "

"Their cell phones rang, but they didn't pick up," said Tezuka bluntly. "Their parents picked up their house phones and said that they'd left the house earlier that morning on some errand."

The rest of the Seigaku teams nodded solemnly. I frowned. "Didn't they know that they'd been invited?"

"Yes, but they seem to have forgotten, although this is very unlikely – only a 5 chance," Inui-san replied. "The chance that they have chosen not to go is conversely high – 75."

"What of the remaining 20, Sadaharu?" asked another boy whose eyes seemed to be permanently closed – Yanagi Renji, or so I assumed from the description Seiichi had given me..

"The remaining 20 was caused by the fact that both are absent, plus their not answering our calls and their parents' alibi that they had left earlier on an errand," said Inui, adjusting his glasses. "There is a 20 chance that…" here he paused for effect, since he knew that everyone in the room was hanging on to his words, "…That they have a date together."

TSUKI

"Just as well that my teammates decided that supporting Yuki-chan was their main priority, not searching for me," I thought. Although I'd told my parents that I'd gone out on an errand, I was actually just taking a walk around Tokyo, not really going anywhere. Right now I was heading in the general direction of home, having just left the Ginza area, where I'd had to exert great self-control to keep from gaping at the price tags on most, if not all, the items on display.

I ignored the curious stares that my unusual hair garnered me. Let them stare. I couldn't care less. Catching sight of a girl with curly black hair, I wondered how Yuki-chan would react to my absence. Or actually, how Fuji would react to it… why was I thinking about him now, when he obviously didn't want me in the end? Turning a corner, I found myself on turf that I recognized – I had managed to maneuver myself back to the street tennis court's area.

Then my eyes snagged on an all too familiar figure, not too far away. Slim, slight, and with soft brown hair – speak (or think, in this case) of the devil; it was he – what on earth was he doing here, not attending Yuki-chan's parents' funeral? For a moment, I froze in my tracks, standing stock still in the middle of the road. My fellow pedestrians stepped around me, such that the entire crowd flowed around and onward to their respective destinations.

He was just coming down the stairs from the courts, the winter wind tossing his hair and tugging at his clothes. It seemed that he hadn't seen me; perhaps I could slip away before he did –

Maybe he'd felt my intense stare burning into his back, or perhaps it was just a coincidence that Kami-sama saw fit to bequeath us. Whatever the case was, he turned and saw me. His eyes flew open; even from that distance I could clearly see the unimaginably beautiful shade of blue. Like magnets drawing steel, they drew me, inexorably, relentlessly.

FUJI

Sensing an intense gaze on me, I turned around and immediately saw the unmistakable glow of silver hair. My eyes snapped open. What was she doing here? Why wasn't she at Yuki-chan's parents' funeral?

Sometimes it was unfortunate that our minds worked in such similar ways. We'd both decided to refuse Yuki-chan's invitation to avoid each other, and we went out so that we wouldn't happen to bump into each other on the other's way to meet the rest of our teammates. And yet, in the end, we ended up walking into each other in a completely random place that we'd been sure the other wouldn't be at.

For a moment, emotions warred. If I talked to her, I'd probably do or say something I'd later regret. If I didn't, I'd wonder what might have happened. It all came down to the question: How much did I want her? Enough to put my pride on the line and beg, or not?

However, before I could come to a decision, she was standing right in front of me. And, for the first time in a long time, I was at a loss for words… But it turned out that this wasn't a problem, because she had other plans.

**A/N: As everyone has predicted, they're trying to avoid each other… Review, please!**

**PS. I'm sorry I didn't get to answer the reviews… (bleep)ing email decided that it was funny to reject FF net emails… so here are the replies.**

**Khyhara: **sankyu. That was really encouraging, nya. It seems that even my worst writing is acceptable… probably it went through a dozen edits before deemed as satisfactory as it could possibly be.

**DarkShadowMuffin**: Tensais indeed break up in strange ways… yup, it's a tense situation indeed – that will be resolved VERY soon.

**Kiyoshi Kozue: **You boost my ego. Really. And her cousin was MEANT to be that annoying. XD

**Jezeka:** I kinda wanted it that way. nice that you spotted it too. Miri scares me too. XD and here's the update!


	37. Event by Event

Chapter 37: Event by event 

TSUKI

Although I hadn't actually set out with that intention, impulse took over me, and taking just one more step to close the distance, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him fiercely. "You baka," I whispered. "Why did you walk away?"

I felt him hesitate, then his body relaxed and he tentatively put an arm around me. "You seemed averse…" he replied.

"It was quite the contrary," I informed him, pulling away. "_I_ thought _you_ were the one who was disinclined."

Suddenly, a familiar, not-quite-smirk-but-yet-not-quite-smile appeared on his face. "Is that so? Well, I shall take this opportunity to persuade you otherwise."

Glancing at him, I was instantly caught by his eyes. Fingers brushed my cheek; warmth at my waist informed me that he'd rested his arm there again. Heat surged as he bent his head slightly to press his lips against mine, his breath mingling with my own; hot sweetness raced through my body, making my breath come short and turning my knees to water.

When he finally let me go, I was gasping for breath, my face feeling unnaturally hot against the frigid breeze.

He was definitely smirking. "Convinced?"

I chose not to answer, because he already knew too well exactly _how_ convinced I was. "Where on earth did you learn to kiss like that? I always thought you never had a girlfriend," I said, curious.

Shrugging, he said, "Nowhere. Maybe I'm just naturally talented."

Raising an eyebrow, I repeated, "Naturally talented…"

YUKI

"Hold up right there. Fuji-kun and Tsuki-chan are _dating_?!" I exclaimed.

"No, but there is a high possibility," replied Aki-chan.

"I see… wait, wasn't she dating _you_?" I demanded of Oshitari.

He shrugged. "We broke up the day before yesterday."

I blinked. "Now why on earth would you do that?"

"We both decided that it was for the best," he replied nonchalantly.

"As if. You thought she was spending too much time with Fuji," said Mukahi.

Just then, there was a knock on my door. Impatiently, I flung it open. "I told you I was only to be interrupted if the guests arrived –" At the sight of a very disapproving etiquette master and two of the in-house guests, I cut myself off in mid-sentence. "Oh. My apologies."

EIJI

"Nya, this is very… stressful," I whispered to Oishi.

"Don't be disrespectful to the dead, Eiji," he reprimanded. "In case you forgot, this is a funeral."

"That's why it's stressful!" I moaned. "We have to be so formal and well-behaved!"

"Even so, imagine what it must be like for Yuki-chan," said Tano-chan. "She's the hostess; she has to keep them all entertained."

I glanced at Yuki-chan, who was smiling politely as she made small talk with an elderly couple over a glass of wine. "You're right, nya. It must be terrible…"

Yukimura joined the conversation. "But she's actually handling it quite well. At least she still has the cool, professional front that she needs to show all those business associates of hers; I'm sure they came to see what the heir of the Koori's looks like."

"Poor Yuki-chan," I muttered sympathetically. "She can't even cry at her parents' funeral."

KISAKI

Puzzled at my husband's early return from work – it wasn't even noon yet; he usually came home after nightfall – I inquired, "Did something happen?"

He nodded. "I've been promoted from head purchasing officer in Japan to the company's Chief of Finance. The company gave me the day and the rest of the week off to tie up any loose ends."

Still nonplussed, I asked, "What does your promotion have to do with tying up loose ends?"

"The promotion also means that I have to move to England for long-term, because, as you know, our company headquarters are there. My flight is scheduled next Saturday," he explained.

"Will we have to come with you immediately?" I was rather worried on this count for Tsukiko. She'd only been here for less than six months, and the middle school graduation examinations were around the corner in less than a month.

"No. I know Tsukiko's middle school graduation examinations are next month; her formal graduation would be within three. It would be best for her to complete her middle school studies here in Japan instead of having to join into another school in the middle of the year – European school years start in September," he added. "I'll be going alone at the end of this week to establish a place for you when you come. Hopefully we can arrange with the school to let her get her formal middle school graduation certificate once the marks for the graduating exams are finalized. If this is possible, then she should be able to leave school by the end of February and I'll meet you in England."

I nodded slowly, digesting the information. "I hope Tsukiko isn't too upset about having to move again so soon," I remarked.

TSUKI

We still acted almost the same, with only a few differences – now we held hands while walking, and we teased each other a bit more than usual. There was an added kind of intimacy to the original companionship.

We were just enjoying a cup of coffee together in a nearby café when my cell phone rang. Checking the caller ID, I realized that it was my mother.

"Mother? Is something the matter?"

"Actually… yes. Tsukiko, can you come home now? Your father and I have an important matter to talk to you about," she explained.

She sounded faintly anxious, but I was pretty sure it wasn't a divorce. My parents got along very well despite their difference in personalities. "Okay, I'll be home in about ten minutes."

"Sure. Ja." There was a click as my mother ended the call.

"I'll walk you home," offered Fuji.

I smiled. "Thanks."

We ducked out of the café and back onto the road, heading towards my house. Although neither of us talked very much, it was a comfortable silence, and the feel of his hand holding mine was strangely… right. Somehow.

Outside my house, he glanced around. Seeing the many passers-by, he sighed lightly and settled for squeezing my hand. "See you tomorrow, then."

"Ja," I smiled, waving. Only when he turned the corner, out of sight, did I head indoors.

To my surprise, Mother wasn't waiting for me just inside the door to bombard me with questions about Fuji. In fact, she was in the sitting room, sitting bolt upright with an anxious look on her face. My father, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.

"There you are, Tsukiko. Sit down," she invited, smiling rather stiffly.

A sense of foreboding came over me. Mother only acted so stiff when whatever she was going to tell me was something that I wouldn't exactly be pleased about. What could have happened?

FUJI

It had truly been worth skipping the funeral and facing Tezuka's wrath, I mused. Not that I really had much to fear from him – I still had those blackmail pictures of him with Echizen.

I nearly walked into Yuuta when I entered my house. "Yuuta?"

My brother stared at me in surprise. "Didn't you say you were going to be out for the whole day?"

"Why, there's nothing wrong with bestowing the glow of Ore-sama's presence upon his family, is there?" I smiled; the Atobe act was good, even if I did say so myself.

Yuuta buried his face in his hands. "Mizuki came over… I should've known…"

"The purple freak?" I peered behind him to look into the living room. Sure enough, a figure clad in eye-hurting purple was lounging on the sofa. "We'll need to disinfect the house, after he's gone."

"Why hello, my destined rival," the purple freak said, oozing over. "Surely you won't begrudge me a match –"

"Well, I'll be going upstairs now," I told Yuuta, completely ignoring the radioactive purple – which took quite a lot of effort, considering. "Has Nee-san arrived in New York yet?" Yumiko-nee-san was supposed to land that morning while I was out.

"Yes, she did. She called back to let us know she's fine… and she said to tell you to check your email, too. But she didn't tell me why." Yuuta shrugged. "Now go away and leave me alone."

"You won't be alone," I pointed out. "That radioactive purple freak is still here."

"Just go away will you, you baka Aniki?" demanded Yuuta, exasperated.

Smiling, I left them. I wouldn't deign to play another match with that purple freak, and he ought to know by now. My destined rival, indeed.

Once safely ensconced in my room, I turned on my laptop and waited patiently for the Internet connection to come into effect. It didn't take too long – meaning that I hadn't felt the urge to go downstairs and harass the purple freak a little more by the time it booted up.

"Saa… I wonder what Nee-san sent…" I muttered under my breath. Nee-san was pretty used to being sent abroad by her company, so she didn't normally feel homesick so soon after getting off the plane. Seeing the aforementioned email, I clicked to open it.

My eyes flicked open when I read what she'd typed in it.

_Syuusuke,_

_Remember, whenever I draw you in my tarot cards, you are always the Magician? Tsuki-chan is the High Priestess. And when I drew each of your love lives just before I left, I drew the High Priestess for you and the Magician for Tsuki-chan._

_I'd actually realized it the first time I did a tarot reading for Tsuki-chan, but at that time I'd drawn two cards, the Magician – you – and another card, the Devil. Just for confirmation, I drew for her again when she'd returned from the holiday, and this time I only drew the Magician._

_You know my tarot readings are never wrong._

_Yumiko_

_PS: I think the two of you really look great together._

Hmm. Interesting. So, in other words, Yumiko-nee-san was trying to say that we were destined to be together. How cheesy… but then she _was_ cheesy, being a fortune-teller and all.

Perhaps I should call Tsuki-chan and tell her?

**A/N: if anyone flames this, I will totally understand. My eyes burn at the sight of it, especially Yumiko's email… T.T Review anyway please**


	38. Please say you're joking

Chapter 38: Please say you're joking 

TSUKI

I blinked at my mother in complete disbelief. "Please say you're joking," I said, laughing weakly. "You must be."

She met my eyes, stare for stare. "I have never been more serious. You'll begin high school in England in September, when the European school year starts. At least you can complete your middle school education here in Japan."

No. I would _not_ cry. Summoning all my willpower, I slammed down on the urge. Migrate to England… I would leave all my friends behind, all these new friends I had made here in Tokyo… I would leave Fuji behind, when I'd only just realized how much he meant to me…

"May I have some time to think about this?" I asked, standing. Without waiting for permission, I marched out of the room and up the stairs, locking myself into my own rooms. I didn't turn on the lights. Right now, the dim glow from the moonlight and streetlamps outside fit my mood very well.

Uprooted. That was the only way I could think of to describe it. I would be uprooted from my home, my family (well, most of them), my friends. Why only when I'd just become conscious of how much I liked being around them; how I could let down my guard and still feel safe – why only now, neither sooner when I wouldn't have felt so bad at leaving, nor later when I would have spent an adequate amount of time with them, did I have to be uprooted?

Why only when I'd fallen in love did I have to leave? Fate was cruel…

Once again, Kami-sama spoilt the angst-filled mood with a timely phone call. Smoldering, I picked up the cell phone and checked the caller ID – if it were that baka Miri I would most certainly block her number again –

It was Fuji. I debated for a moment on whether or not I should pick it up; when the ringing persisted, I gave in. "Fuji?"

"Yo, Tsuki-chan," came the familiar, cheerful voice that drew a violent contrast with my present feelings. "Nee-san made an interesting discovery in your tarot readings. Want to hear it?"

I hesitated. My news had to be more important… but it could wait. I wanted to savor these few moments in which he stayed blissfully unaware. "Sure. You said she left for New York?"

"Yes, she did, but she emailed me just after arriving, I think. Did you know you're the High Priestess and I'm the Magician in tarot readings? Nee-san drew the High Priestess for the love card for me," he said conversationally. "What did you get?"

"Magician," I replied. "I think you knew already, didn't you?"

"Saa… Maybe," was the teasing answer. "So, would you like to enlighten me as to why did your mother called you home?"

My spirits, which had begun to perk up, instantly dropped again. "She had something important to tell me," I said vaguely, not wanting to say it out loud – it was almost as if saying it aloud would make it real.

"What was it?" he asked. "Don't be so vague, now."

"My dad got a promotion…" I stalled.

"Why, congratulations. But surely _that_ wasn't so important that she had to give you an urgent call," probed Fuji. Obviously he could sense that there was more than that.

"the promotion requires that he work in the company headquarters…" Still I put off the final, condemning statement.

"And where would they be located?" he asked shrewdly.

"England." The word tasted odd in my mouth. In a few months, I would have to call that country my home…

I could almost sense the slight frown that creased his forehead. "Is this a long-term arrangement?"

"Yes…" it was a whisper, a compromise between saying it aloud and staying silent.

"You're moving again?" His voice was controlled, so much more so than my own.

My throat clogged for a moment; I couldn't reply. But he understood anyway. "Tsuki-chan… you're going to have to migrate to England, right?"

Still I was unable to say that word of conviction. Once again, he seemed to know all the same. "If you really must, I don't blame you. But Tsuki-chan…"

"Yes?" Speech had returned to me, and all I could say was one pathetic word…

"Just… can we talk about this another time?" Maybe he really was as upset as I was, or maybe he somehow just knew that right now I wouldn't be able to think clearly.

"Sure." It was so nice that he understood without my having to say anything aloud. "Ja, I'll see you around."

"Of course. You won't get rid of me that easily." He hung up.

FUJI

I stared at the phone for a long time. Tsuki-chan was migrating to England…?

Well, I was happy for her. After all, her father had gotten a promotion, which had to be a good thing – he'd be earning more. And many sent their children to Europe to study, so the education system there had to be of a certain standard.

But the problem was, she wouldn't be _here_ anymore.

_I_ wasn't going to England to study anytime soon, so it wasn't like I could join her there. Unless I could get a scholarship to a top university there… like Oxford or something… but there was still the issue of family. I wanted to keep an eye on Yuuta as much as I could, and that meant staying in Japan.

Then again, Toudai (the Tokyo University) was an extremely prestigious university, recognized worldwide as one of the best. Yumiko-nee-san had only just graduated this year, and it was taken for granted that I would be following in her footsteps – with my grades, it would be easy to get the scholarship.

Which, I concluded, would mean that it would be easy for _her_ to get the scholarship too, even if she were taking it as a foreign student.

That was _it_! Perfect!

EIJI

"Mou… in the end they didn't turn up," I mourned as the last of the guests left.

Even though I hadn't said who, Oishi seemed to know already. "The captains are going to give them hell… maybe I should try to smooth things over the next time we meet," he said anxiously.

I shrugged "Nya, it's their own fault, isn't it? Tsuki-chan was so selfish, not wanting to come and support Yuki-chan –"

"I think she has her own matters to attend to," came a voice from behind me.

"Unya? Yuki-chan, what do you mean?"

Yuki-chan's eyes glinted slightly. "Well, if she and Fuji-kun really _are_ dating, I won't mind at all. I mean, they're really taking their time about it – we all know that Fuji-kun likes her, and Oshitari-san said that she broke up with him because she preferred Fuji-kun's company more."

My eyes widened. "Oh! I'd forgotten! Nya, we wouldn't want to disturb them at all, would we?"

She winked. "Of course not. They've taken too long already."

"Actually, maybe we should have helped them a bit," commented Yukimura, who had come soon after Yuki-chan. "After all, Tano-chan and Niou helped _us_." He shared a knowing smile with Yuki-chan.

Oishi began to back away, pulling me along. "Eto… I'm sure you two would rather be alone right now…"

"Demo, Oishi, don't we need to make plans to help Fujiko-chan and Tsuki-chan get together?" I protested, tugging out of his grip.

Someone else slung an arm around me. "Naturally. Watching those two makes my heart bleed."

Tano-chan appeared in my field of vision. "You actually _have_ a heart, Haru? Now _that_'s new…"

"I'm hurt, Hikari-chan – wounded, really…" Letting go of me, Niou-san caught her arm. I averted my eyes as he pulled her close.

There were some muffled sounds and mumbling, as well as wolf-whistles (I suspected Gakuto), before Yukimura-san coughed politely. "Niou, Tano-chan, do you mind? We _are_ in the middle of a meeting."

"We are?" I repeated. "I didn't know that."

"Well, maybe we weren't before, but we are now," replied Aki-chan, joining the group.

"Oh…" Nodding in comprehension, I looked around. "So is Hyotei coming along? And are Tezuka-buchou and Sanada-san joining us as well?"

Hearing us, both of the aforementioned players turned and pinned me with a glare, their faces set in stone. Unconsciously, I took a step back.

Momo laughed. "You shouldn't have asked, Eiji-sempai; you know that they'd never take part in our…" he fumbled for the correct word.

"Recreational activities?" suggested Oshitari.

"Yes! Tezuka-buchou and Sanada-san would _never_ take part in our little recreational activities!" finished Momo.

"Oh, you never know," said Yukimura-san. "Genichirou used to stalk, too."

Everyone, including me, stared at the blunette. "Say _what_?!"

He smiled. "Well, there was that time back in –"

Sanada marched over and glowered at his pretty buchou. "Yukimura."

"Yes, Genichirou?" Yukimura smiled even more sweetly, but there was the obvious sadistic touch. Maybe he felt that he had to make up for the lack of Fujiko-chan…

They stared at each other for five full seconds, Sanada-san's angry glare and Yukimura-san's sweet but stonewalling smile. Sadly, they both broke at exactly the same moment, so we couldn't say that either had lost.

"Anyway, that can wait for another time," said Yukimura-san, turning to us and clapping his hands for attention. "So, what do you think we can do with those two?"

Meanwhile, Sanada-san went back to his original place – somewhere between Tezuka-buchou and Atobe-san. The three of them returned to the conversation they'd been having before we'd drawn their attention, firmly _not_ listening to us. No matter how much they might have wanted to…

"Yukimura-san? Tell us about Sanada-san's stalking next time."

**A/N: complete and utter crap. I still think my writing gets worse as the fic winds down… I'm much better at building things up than bringing them to a close… T.T reviews are loved.**


	39. We have a Date

Chapter 39: We have a date 

TSUKI

A new text message? I picked up my cell phone, curious who would send a message when normal people would be sleeping.

It was from Fuji. I should have known. _Meet me at the ice sculptures._

Ice sculptures? Did I know of _any_ ice sculptures in the first place? But then again, since it was Fuji, I was pretty sure he was coming at things from the side. He was both telling me and yet not telling me at the same time; I would have to figure out his little riddle.

I smiled. So he still liked to play games. That was nice – it'd be boring, otherwise.

"Saa… time to go out, then."

FUJI

A flash of silver alerted me to her presence. I smiled, turning to greet her. "Saa… you still meet the requirements, so far."

She tilted her head slightly. "What requirements? Isn't this our version of fun?"

"Point," I conceded. "How did you know what I meant?"

"For one, there really aren't any sculptures deserving the name in this area, let alone any made of ice." Tsuki-chan walked over, brushing her hands gently over the white frosting on the wall I was leaning on. "Second, I remembered seeing a roof almost completely encrusted in magnificent icicles yesterday on the way home."

"And?" I asked.

"Icicles are natural ice sculptures, aren't they?" Smiling, she glanced upwards at the pale structures dripping from the branches over my head. "I just went and looked around for icicles. Plus, I was pretty sure you wouldn't want to meet in somebody's backyard, which narrowed the choices."

"If you're so clever, what do you need me for?" I teased.

"Two heads are better than one. You were expecting me to say that you should take yourself off, ne?" She turned to lean next to me, sliding her hand into mine almost shyly. I squeezed it gently in reassurance.

"Actually, I was," I admitted. "But anyway, I called you out because I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Mou… and here I was thinking that it was a date," she replied jokingly. Then, more seriously, she asked, "Is it about what I told you yesterday?"

"Yes."

EIJI

"Mou, we still can't find either of them." I pouted in frustration.

"I'm _hungry_," complained Momo. "We've been looking for them _forever_. Can't we take a break?"

Inui, scribbling something into his ever-present notebook, informed us, "There is a 95 chance that they are in each other's company, and a 5 chance that their alibis are real – in which case, Hayashi should be in the supermarket doing the groceries –"

"We already checked; she isn't there," put in Momo.

" – and Fuji should be at the street tennis courts," finished Inui, ignoring Momo's interruption. "Of course, there is a high percentage chance that either might have left their cited locations and are presently on their way home, if they are not where their alibi states them to be," he added, cutting me off just as I started to say that we'd checked there too.

"Nya, we've been searching the area the whole day!" I exclaimed, collapsing dramatically onto a nearby bench. "What about the girls; have they found anything?"

"No. Tano called in 3.2 minutes ago to check up on us and for us both to update." Adjusting his spectacles, Inui continued, "No results worth mentioning."

"Maybe they really _are_ on a date and we're just wasting our time," grumped Momo.

"Shut up," I said eloquently. "Inui, what about the others that we haven't checked on recently?"

Flipping back a few pages, the data man cleared his throat. "Oishi has been calling their respective houses repeatedly every ten minutes with no affirmative reply. Kawamura said that he would call if either happens to pass his sushi place. Kaidoh and Tezuka are abstaining, as you know. Hyotei wishes to have no part in this. Rikkai would like to help, but are unfortunately too far away to do anything beyond the formulation of the plan. Imai –"

The buzzing of his cell phone interrupted his monologue. With a faintly pained look on his face, he accepted the call. "Moshi moshi, this is Inui."

There was a short pause. "Ah. That sounds like a good lead. We will be there shortly. Ja."

"Who what when where why how?" I demanded the moment he hung up.

"Imai says that they met someone who saw a silver-haired girl – Hayashi – heading towards the park 0.8 minutes ago," replied Inui, efficiently answering all six questions in one sentence. "I believe that –"

"What are we waiting for, nya?! Let's go!" Grabbing both Momo and Inui's hands, I dragged them off in the general direction of the park.

"But Eiji-sempai, I'm _hungry_! Can't we stop for a quick snack –"

Ignoring my kouhai's protests, I asked Inui, "Which way is the fastest?"

TSUKI

"Meet in Toudai?" I repeated.

He nodded. "I'm sure you can apply for a scholarship there from the English high schools."

"Yes, but…" Why was I hesitating? It was a good idea.

Fuji noted the hesitation. "But what?"

I cast around for an excuse. "But what if either of us forgets?"

"Then we'll still be enrolled in a prestigious university with internationally recognized standards," he replied, shrugging.

"You sound like you don't care," I accused.

His eyes flicked open, showing the harsh beauty of his eyes framed by the soft, long lashes. "Oh, I do care," he whispered, pulling me closer into a tight hug. I twisted slightly to tuck my head under his chin, feeling my eyes fill and not bothering to banish the tears.

That warm embrace said more than words could have, was more intimate than passionate kisses. I leaned into him, feeling his heartbeat next to mine, his hot breath ruffling my hair alongside the frigid winter breeze that burned the salty liquid staining my cheeks.

"I don't want to go…" The words slipped out of my mouth, muffled, unbidden, barely even audible; but Fuji heard me all the same.

Releasing me, he held me firmly by the shoulders. "Stop crying, Tsuki-chan. Think of it as an opportunity to see more of the world; to gain more experience."

I tried to laugh, but it came out more like a hiccup. "That sounds exactly like something my _mother_ would tell me."

A vaguely poignant smile curved his lips, but his eyes remained open. "Go, Tsuki-chan. Blow those English snobs away with who you are. Take all that you can of worth from them, but never give them anything of you. You can do it; you will. But most importantly, never forget that we have a date in three years' time on the first day we begin at Toudai."

I felt the corners of my own mouth rise; the tears dried and forgotten. "I won't forget."

TANO

I gnawed on my lip as I watched the pair cling to each other, not sure whether to laugh or to cry. We'd been stalking them for the best part of the day, in hopes of getting them together – when it seemed that they didn't need our help at all.

Next to me, Aki-chan had removed her rimless spectacles and was cleaning them with her handkerchief. "100 probability that they are dating," she stated, replacing them onto the bridge of her nose, where they belonged.

"That was totally stating the obvious," I sweatdropped.

"Sometimes, the obvious needs to be stated," was the cool reply. "Well, I suppose we ought to call Yuki-sempai and tell her that they are safely together and perfectly happy."

"Hoi! Aki-chan, Tano-chan!" Neither of us needed to turn to know who was the caller.

Eiji came up behind us, panting as he dragged a complaining Momo ("I'm _hungry_") and a notebook-brandishing Inui-san. He peered through the bushes behind which we were hiding. "Usso! Tsuki-chan is _crying_!"

I did a double take. "_What_?!"

True enough, there was an unnatural sparkle on her cheeks, and her shoulders were shaking slightly. "Oh Kami-sama…"

"Nya, Fujiko-chan is bad!" exclaimed Eiji. "How could he have made his own girlfriend cry?!"

I winced at the volume of his voice; even though we were a good distance away with a reasonable amount of vegetation in between, there was no sense in tempting fate. And I had a feeling that they had sharp ears, too.

Imai apparently had the same sentiments. "Eiji-sempai, if you continue to talk so loud, there is a 90 chance that they'll hear you and then we'll miss the rest of the show."

Okay, so perhaps not _quite_ the same sentiments. But the essence of it was similar. Seeing that Eiji had gone silent – for the moment, anyway – I turned my attention back on the scene not too far off.

EIJI

I watched, holding my breath, as Fujiko-chan pushed Tsuki-chan away. Holding my breath because I wanted to scream, but if I did, they'd hear me, and I was too young to die!

They seemed to be talking. At least, Fujiko-chan was talking to Tsuki-chan, even though she didn't seem to have stopped crying yet. Why was she crying anyway? Fujiko-chan wouldn't make her cry. He liked her. A lot. Even though he didn't show it, I knew – I _had_ been his best friend for two years, before she'd come along.

Suddenly I saw her smile. So they had made up? That was good… I let out the breath I had been holding in a sigh of relief.

"I'm _hungry_," repeated Momo for the millionth time.

"Can't you appreciate what's happening to Fujiko-chan and Tsuki-chan?" I demanded.

"I _do_! But I can't think when my stomach has decided to glue itself to my backbone!" he protested.

"Momoshiro, if you complain about being hungry one more time, I'm sure Inui-sempai wouldn't mind testing his latest juice on you," said Aki-chan in an altogether too friendly tone for the content of the sentence.

Momo cringed. "O-okay! I'll shut up! If I ever take Inui-sempai's juices on an empty stomach I'll definitely _die_!"

"Good. The world would be a better place."

FUJI

"I think I just saw Eiji over there," she said, poking my arm and indicating something behind me. "He's probably spying."

I smirked slightly. "Then let's give him something to look at."

The playful grin was evident on her face as I pulled her close once again and proceeded to ravish her – with particularly deep kisses.

EIJI

"Ii data," muttered Inui, scribbling furiously. "I haven't had such good personal data on Fuji before."

"Inui! Is that all you can think of?!" I averted my eyes from the writhing figures in the distance. "It's _scarring_ me beyond repair –"

"It's not that bad," said Aki-chan contemplatively. "I've seen worse."

I stared at her with a mixture of respect and horror. "And you're younger than me…"

**A/N: Poor Eiji. I wonder what Akiya has seen… hopefully Fuji isn't getting majorly OOC, because he is in my opinion. Argh. Fuji isn't a normally mushy person!!! T.T review please!**


	40. It's time to go now

Chapter 40: It's time to go now 

TSUKI

School started a few days later. Things changed, and yet they didn't change. Oh, there _were_ differences – Yuki-chan was more sober and often had bags under her eyes from staying up late dealing with accounts; Tano-san had developed a flair for sarcasm; Himitsu constantly checked her cell phone for messages from Choutarou and daydreamed during practice; and the relationship between Fuji and I deepened progressively.

But the boys stayed the same – Momo was still constantly hungry; Tezuka and Ryo-baby still snuck moments when they thought nobody was looking; Eiji was still bouncy.

And most of all, the fangirls were still jealous.

Oh yes, they were jealous. Eiji had let it slip (on purpose or not, nobody would ever know) that Fuji and I were dating. And almost immediately, the head honchos of his (Fuji's) fan club swarmed me.

"How dare you –"

"Fuji-sama is too good –"

"You don't deserve –"

"You slut –"

That was the main essence of the insults hurled at me. I endured it with a smiling poker face, then later made sure to stage a public display of affection before the bulk of the fangirl population. They hadn't been at all appreciative.

Time flew past. The exams came and went, and both of us walked through them with barely a hair out of place despite their importance – we knew that whatever the subject, as long as it counted, we'd do well. Which meant that I failed miserably at art. He, on the other hand, decided to be irritating and pass _everything_ (including art) with flying colors (pardon the pun), so I confiscated his camera for a day. He was perfectly contrite the next morning.

The results arrived, and the school board agreed to confer my certificate upon me earlier than the rest of the level – so that I could leave sooner for England.

The furniture had been sent piece by piece to my father after he'd found a place for us, and the last items had just been shipped. Most of our clothes were on their way ahead of us. We were presently staying in a convenient hotel for these last few days before we said goodbye to Japan.

And, irony of ironies – our flight was scheduled for Valentine's Day. When I heard that, I had a hard time deciding between hysterical laughter and mad tears. In the end, I settled for a bit of both.

YUKI

I watched her, not sure whether it was safe to talk. Tsuki-chan's moods had been getting more and more wildly unpredictable as the date for her departure drew closer. And the problem was, with her perfect poker face, you never had a clue as to what was coming. With the same smile, she could slam you with sarcasm or stroke you with sweetness.

She seemed to have sensed my eyes on her, because she turned around to look at me. "Something for you, Yuki-chan?"

It didn't sound very encouraging, and I immediately backed off. "Nothing much, really… you do seem busy right now…" Which was a complete lie, because she'd just finished packing her bag after tennis practice and was waiting for Fuji so that they could walk home together. I could have slapped myself for the obvious cover-up.

Raising an almost invisible eyebrow, she replied, "No, I'm not. As you can see quite clearly…" He lips curved wryly. "You know, I won't bite if you want to say anything."

Judging from your changeability these past few days, you would be _very_ likely to bite, I thought, but didn't say it aloud. "Actually, I just wanted to know if you wanted us to come and see you off the day after tomorrow," I admitted.

At the reminder of her leaving, her silver eyes clouded, and her poker face returned, not betraying a trace of her emotions. "It's entirely up to you."

Not betraying a trace of her emotions, but I could guess quite easily. Her voice had been toneless, but clearly she was telling me _not_ to come. "If you don't want us to come, say so," I told her. My temper, always short, was fraying.

The smile widened. "I didn't need to," she pointed out. "You understood fine. But then, you still can't say that I actually told you not to come. Now, if you'll excuse me. Tell Fuji I'm going first."

Behind her, the door of our clubroom swung shut, and I saw the orange of the setting sun reflecting off her hair as she walked towards the school gate. It looked strangely unfamiliar… why? Because I didn't know her anymore?

A hand touched my shoulder, and turning, I looked into brilliant cerulean eyes. "Leave her be," Fuji said softly. "She's just sad, angry – and she only knows to take it out on you."

"Why? Many people I know would gladly take her place." Puzzled, I watched as he picked up his things.

Once again, he fixed me with those mesmerizing eyes – much more powerful than Seiichi's, I noted distantly. "She's different."

That explained _so_ much, I thought.

"But she means what she says," he continued. "Don't come to see her off if she doesn't want you to." Shouldering his bags, he headed for the door.

Impulsively, I asked, "Will you?"

He paused, his hand on the doorknob, before suddenly smiling. "Yes, I will. Because I'm probably the only one who could get away with it without a painful punishment." With that, he was gone.

He did have a point there. Sighing, I flipped open my cell phone. Time to notify the others.

FUJI

I caught up with her quite easily; she was waiting just outside the school gates. "Temper got the better of you?" I asked, half-teasing.

He lips twisted in the semblance of a smile. "Kind of. But I _don't _want them coming… It'd only make it harder to leave."

"I told her that they shouldn't come," I said reassuringly. Then, grinning, I added, "But I also told her that _I_'d be coming."

"I didn't say you could, did I?" she accused.

"You didn't say I couldn't either," I reminded her, sliding an arm around her waist.

She didn't resist when my other arm joined it – on the contrary, her hands gripped at my shirt, as if wanting to make sure I couldn't pull away too easily. The kiss was slow and soft, neither playful not passionate, just a lingering touch, a gentle physical connection. It was enough, for now.

TSUKI

Fuji came, regardless of my protests. When my mother saw him leaning against a wall near the check-in booths, she smiled knowingly and relieved me of my check-in luggage, saying that she could take care of everything perfectly easily.

I glared at him, but was unable to put any real heat in it. "You baka."

He smiled. "Thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment."

"I take it as one nonetheless."

Sighing in helpless exasperation, I went over and leaned against him, feeling an arm wrap around me. "Since you're here, I assume you have something left that you want to say?"

Gently but firmly, he tilted my face up so that my eyes met his. Even having seen his eyes so often in the past month and a half, they still had the relentless power to render me powerless under their brilliant gaze. "Two things, actually. First, happy Valentine's Day."

This kiss was rougher, challenging and almost desperate – but still with that undertone of playfulness that seemed to be an innate part of him. By the time he let me go, I was gasping, and my cheeks were unnaturally hot, as was most of the rest of my body; even my stomach was squirming in an uneasy manner that was _not_ good, especially not just before a long flight.

"Fuji, you _do_ realize we are in _public_, don't you?" I said, with as much composure as I could muster at the moment.

"Do you really care?" he inquired, grinning mischievously.

I thought it over. "No… but you said there were two things?"

"Guess." The look on his face suggested that he was enjoying this much more than he should.

Glowering, I refused to answer.

His smile widened. "Can't you guess? It's actually very obvious, considering your situation right now. You're about to leave, aren't you?"

Leave… situation… Oh, it really _was_ too obvious. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder. How cheesy you're getting, Fuji," I said, affecting disappointment.

"It fits, though," he pointed out. "Anyway, your mother's calling."

Turning, I saw that he was right – my mother was waving me over. With a sense of walking to my doom, I muttered, "I think it's time to go now. Good-"

A hand over my mouth prevented me from finishing the word. "No goodbyes, Tsuki-chan," he told me firmly. "You'll be back." His gorgeous sapphire eyes challenged me to contradict him, and for once, I didn't take up the challenge.

"I will be back," I repeated, tasting the words. They were a promise, both to him and to myself. "See you, then."

"See you."

I knew that if I turned back, I would see that he was gone already. After all, it wasn't really goodbye; I would come back. I would definitely come back, because he trusted me to come back.

With that thought in mind, I followed my mother to the boarding gates and the plane to London.

**A/N: Cliché. I know. And much too much mush. T.T review anyway please!**


	41. Apart and Unconnected

Chapter 41: Apart and Unconnected 

FUJI

Three years went by, both fast and slow. High school felt no different from middle school. Eiji was still in my class; Oishi still worried over everybody; Tezuka was still strict (and gave endless pleasure to blackmail)… the list went on. We could still trash our sempais on the tennis team; we still had extensive fan clubs.

And there was no Tsuki-chan. It was as if she'd walked out of my life as easily as she'd walked in.

We did not have any form of communication except in a very indirect way. Yuki-chan kept in touch with her via email, as did Tano-chan and Eiji, at least for as long as they could. But not I. We'd tried, originally, but after the first month, we decided that it was a lost cause. There was just _something_ missing. Words on a screen couldn't communicate what we wanted. Thus, when and if I got news of her, it was through Eiji or one of the girls.

Which, consequently, meant that we were virtually strangers for three full years.

TSUKI

I walked out of my class, trying not to think about the fact that today was Fuji's birthday, and I wasn't there to celebrate it with him – when I _did_ think about it, my eyes filled, and I did not want anyone in England to ever see me cry.

"Hey, Zuki." drawled a tall blond guy with a cigarette dangling from his lips, obviously trying to act the cool dude.

Suppressing the urge to wince at the crude pronunciation of my name, I gave him a cold stare. "Do I know you?"

His half-closed eyes – part of his act – widened in surprise, and he gave an awkward chuckle. "Of course you do. I'm in your PE class."

I pretended to think hard. "Really? I don't remember you…" Actually, I did – his name was Hamish... something… who was supposedly a soccer ace. Not that I cared, though.

He looked crestfallen. "Oh. I'm Hamish Seacrest."

Seacrest, ne? Smiling with perfectly sweet innocence, I said, "I see. Did you want anything?"

He seemed to want to say something, but appeared to think better of it. "No, never mind. 'Bye."

After he'd walked away, a girl I vaguely recognized from one or another of my classes. "Zuki! How could you do that to Hamish!" she cried. "He's _such_ a hottie! And he likes you! He was going to ask you out!"

I shrugged. "Compared to some, he's nothing."

Before she could ask me what I meant, I walked off. The brilliant blue of the summer sky above reminded me painfully of a certain pair of magnificent cerulean eyes that I had not seen in over a year; the rustle of the leaves almost seemed to whisper my name – with the correct pronunciation. Tsuki, not Zuki.

FUJI

"I'm sorry, Ayana-chan," I apologized with as much sincerity as I could muster. Which wasn't much, but she seemed to be convinced. "I can't be your boyfriend."

She stared at me, her eyes swimming in tears. "Why, Fuji-kun? I'll do anything you want; I'll be the best girlfriend ever –"

I cut her off. "I'm afraid that you never could. Because… I had a better one."

Swiping at her eyes, she asked, "Who? I've never seen you with a girl before!"

"She's gone… but she'll be back. And you don't know her, because she left before I entered high school," I explained.

"How do you know she'll be back? She might have a new boyfriend already; she might have forgotten you!"

Staring into the velvety night sky, I whispered, "I know she'll be back… because she promised me. And I trust her."

The full moon glowed silver, high overhead – the exact shade of Tsuki-chan's eyes when she was happy. What was she doing now? Did she remember me at all, or was I just another of the past boys she had dumped?

YUKI

"Fuji and Tsuki-chan still aren't communicating?" inquired Seiichi.

I sighed. "They aren't; they haven't been for… how long?"

"Almost two, now," he replied. "Fuji's been getting more and more confessions and proposals, or so I've heard."

"He has. The girls, even our sempais, find him irresistible." I shuddered at the thought. "It's quite scary, really. I've been keeping Tsuki-chan up to date about the latest ones –"

He smiled. "You want her to get angry, don't you?"

"Actually, yes…" I admitted sheepishly. "If she did, she might give him a call and an earful, or even a dressing-down via email. But she just ignores them; when I ask her what she thinks, she just gives me stonewalling answers, like 'I don't care, Yuki-chan' and 'They are of no concern to me'."

"Maybe she really _is_ jealous, but doesn't want to show it," suggested my boyfriend of two years. "I mean, if someone told you that I'd gotten another confession –"

"I'd laugh it off," I said immediately, cutting him off. "Some of your fangirls are seriously pathetic; I know I'm better than them."

"Confident, aren't we?" he laughed, drawing me closer. I smiled as our lips met.

TSUKI

_Fuji got another confession from one of the freshmen, Shin Ayana. She's actually quite a nice girl…_

Mentally, I blanked out. If Yuki-chan was really trying to instill a reaction in me, of which I was sure, it wasn't going to work. Not for the first time, I contemplated changing my email, and consequently cut off what communication remained between me and Japan.

Hmm… it really wasn't such a bad idea; I wouldn't get updates on Fuji's latest conquests. Plus, it'd make sure that Miri-chan wouldn't continually be fangirling to me about the hot high school boys in Kyoto.

Decisively, I clicked the link to close this email account.

FUJI

We had absolutely no contact for the whole of the last year of high school. But somehow, I preferred it this way. This way, I wouldn't wonder what she might be thinking of my actions that were faithfully reported by Yuki-chan; I wouldn't doubt, her or myself.

Would we be strangers when we met? Would things not go as planned? Would we have changed so thoroughly that we would no longer be the person whom the other had loved, the only one who could so totally understand us, the only one who could really live with us?

We would never know until the crucial day when we finally saw each other – in Toudai. She would be there. Definitely – because I knew her as well as I did myself, and neither of us would back down from the challenge.

KISAKI

I watched my daughter with patent apprehension. She had been even quieter than normal – which was saying a lot, considering she'd never been particularly chirpy even before we'd migrated, and she'd become still less conversational during the close to three years we'd spent here. It was evident that she had something important on her mind.

I was right. "Mother, I've applied – and received – the scholarship to Toudai."

Surprised, I asked, "I thought you already got the one to Oxford?"

She shrugged. "I rather go to Toudai. I've already informed the respective school boards of my decision, too..." The mulish set of her face added, albeit silently, "You can't stop me."

"I won't stop you," I said, taking the hint. "I take it that all expenses are covered, including room and board? Or would you prefer that I arrange something –"

"It's covered," she cut me off. "The next reasonable flight for Tokyo is within the fortnight, so –"

"Of course the arrangements shall be made immediately," I interrupted, smiling fondly. She really loved her independence, this daughter of mine. Just like I had when I was her age.

A rare smile twitched her lips upwards. "No need, Mother. They've been made."

**A/N: This is one lousy chapter. I did warn you. And I'm really putting too much emphasis on 'challenge'. I think I've used it… at least ten times in this chapter… Review, please! This fic is almost over!!!**


	42. Strange Homecoming New Challenge

Chapter 42: Strange Homecoming; Another Challenge 

TSUKI

Somehow, at the back of my mind, I had almost expected to see all my old friends waiting for me at the airport, despite the unearthly hour. When I saw no one, the sense of disappointment was hard to suppress. Having no one receiving you was worse than having no one send you – while my parents _had_ sent me, although I'd been in England for three years, just about nobody could confidently declare that they were close to me.

I ignored the interested looks sent my way as I walked through the airport. There were much more pressing matters on my mind – for one, whether there were limousine taxis available to send me to my lodgings. I would be staying in the Toudai dormitories, for now.

At the thought, a slightly bitter smile tugged at my mouth. I was practically a stranger in my homeland. How ironic.

It turned out that there _were_ limousine taxis, and I loaded my bulky luggage into it with a certain measure of relief. Having instructed the driver as to my destination, I leaned back into the soft leather seats, watching the still brightly lit buildings and lively streets dusted with snow flick past like memories brought back to life.

I was back home, and soon I would know the results of the almost self-enforced separation.

FUJI

Sweat mingled with steaming water dripped from my hair as I hoisted myself out of the hot bath. Steam fogged up the mirror, but I could still see the vague shadow of my body against the condensation.

The silver glow of the full moon penetrated the misted windows, the persistent reminder of Tsuki-chan that had successfully forced me to think of her through the years she was away.

She would come back, and soon. Because if she didn't, I would hunt her down, wherever she was, to extract my due. And she knew that.

TSUKI

"You're one of the scholarship students?" asked a bored-looking matron.

"Yes; my name is Hayashi Tsukiko," I replied, keeping the politeness intact.

She glanced at me suspiciously. "Japanese name…? Well, never mind. You're in room 229 – second to last room of the second floor. Breakfast begins at eight and ends at ten, so if you want to eat the provided food you have to come down by then. Lunch –"

"I know," I cut her off, adding, "Sorry," to soften the slight. "I'll be going to the room now, then."

As I walked towards the lifts, I heard a mutter of "disrespectful teenagers these days." Ignoring it, I lugged my things into the heavy-duty lift and pressed the button for the second floor.

The room was Spartan in its furnishings and obviously well broken-in by previous generations of students, but despite all that, it still looked homely and inviting after the long, sleepless flight from London. Collapsing onto the bed – and disregarding the ominous creak of the bedsprings – I was immediately drowning in the dark wells of deep sleep, without even dreams for company.

YUKI

"A girl with silver hair and eyes, you say?" I repeated, frowning.

"Yes, Koori-sama." The matron of the Toudai dormitories bowed. "She said that her name was – "

"Don't tell me," I interrupted. "Which room is she in?"

She looked rather affronted, but I disregarded it. "Room 229."

I nodded in dismissal. "Thank you; you may leave now."

Bowing again, she obeyed, leaving me alone.

Tsuki-chan was back. Gnawing on my lower lip, I weighed the pros and the cons of broadcasting the news to everyone we'd known since middle school.

Unable to reach a conclusion, I decided to pay my old friend – or new friend – a visit.

TSUKI

I'd barely gotten myself presentable the morning after I'd arrived, before there was a knock on the door. Still grumpy from jetlag and my normal morning blues, I yanked the door open with a good mind to give whoever dared to invade my privacy at such a time a piece of my mind.

Before me stood someone who looked vaguely familiar – glossy dark curls and naturally smoky eyes; petite like me and lean. She smiled hesitantly. "Tsuki-chan?"

Searching my memory, I ventured, "You're… Yuki-chan?"

Her face lit up. "You remember me! Oh, I can't wait to tell everyone that –"

I caught her arm, pinning her with a glare. "You will tell no one."

"Why?" Baffled, Yuki-chan stared back at me. "Don't you want them to know?"

"No, I don't," I replied flatly. "I need to do some things _without_ all of you around. Just do me this one favor, Yuki-chan – don't tell anyone… yet."

I wanted to greet Fuji in person. Without the news of me going ahead.

FUJI

It was the first day of the school year, the day for which I had waited so long. Walking through the great gates of the most prestigious university of Japan, I scanned the crowds of students. People of all colors, religions, ages; all of them had the same look of stressed excitement and eagerness.

An announcement blared over the sound system. "All freshmen, please gather in the south courtyard. I repeat – all freshmen, please gather…"

I followed the throngs of people, looking for a familiar face. Almost all of us had opted for Toudai, and I knew at least Eiji and Inui had been successful. As for the others, I'd either lost touch with them, or they were studying overseas – Tezuka had decided to go to Germany; Atobe was in America, with a number of his old teammates. Some had also applied to different Japanese universities, like Yuki-chan, who had gone to Waseda, the private university.

In the south courtyard, a huge number of chairs were arranged in front of a stage, ready and waiting for us freshmen. I selected a chair near the back, at the end of the row.

"Hello! Are you a newbie too?" asked a dark-haired girl, sitting down on the chair next to me and smiling cheerfully. "I'm Sayuki Rei! Yoroshiku!"

"Yes, I'm also a freshman," I replied, smiling politely. "I'm Fuji Syuusuke."

"Are you from Tokyo? I'm not; I came from Osaka. The dialect is so different –" I listed to her ramblings with only half an ear, while unobtrusively searching the multitude of students for someone with moon-bright silver hair.

Suddenly, Sayuki-chan's monologue trailed off. "Eto… Fuji-kun, do you know this person?" she asked tentatively, tugging at my sleeve for attention.

"Fuji Syuusuke..." Turning, I saw Tsuki-chan. "I kept the promise."

TSUKI

He looked different. Not by much, but it was there. He had grown while I was away – though he'd never be anywhere near as tall as Inui, he was at least half a head taller than me now. I smiled, thinking, "I'd be able to wear heels around him without making him look ridiculous." His hair was slightly longer than before; his skin somewhat darker. But there the differences ended.

That smile was exactly the same vaguely teasing one I remembered; his eyes were still the most mesmerizing shade of blue I had ever seen, framed by soft, long lashes. Pictures and memories could not do them justice. Only when one saw them for real could one understand their wonderful and terrible power. And, just as I always had, I was getting sucked in, drowning in their gorgeous depths.

"You remembered," he said, smiling without closing his eyes – a guarded smile.

I injected a reproachful tone into my voice. "Of course. Did you not trust me?"

He drew closer. Hands slid over my shoulders, around my waist. I looked up at his beautiful features, at his smile, his eyes. "What do you think?" he whispered, and then his mouth was on mine, heat surging through me at the long-forgotten physical contact. I was crushed against him, my entire body throbbing, my hands exploring the muscles on his back while his tangled in my hair. Even then, he remained gentle, with none of the roughness I knew he was also capable of.

Years fell away; I tasted the loneliness and doubt, the pain and the denial that both of us had gone through, just for the tryst we had promised – and the trust we had placed in each other had been rewarded. I knew that we were in public; I knew that many, many people were staring at us – but I couldn't care less.

Slowly, his grip on me loosened, and we drew apart. I could feel the heat radiating from my face; he, too, was flushed and panting. Swallowing hard, I stared at him, half accusing, half pleased. "You baka. That wasn't strictly necessary."

He smiled, a genuine smile, and it was as if the sun had broken through the clouds "Oh, it most certainly was."

I sighed in false exasperation. "I have no idea how I put up with you."

"Saa… because I'm the best boyfriend you could ever have?" he suggested mischievously.

I saw the gaping spectators we had gathered. "Fuji! That was out of the script! How could you deny our audience their entertainment?" I gasped in mock horror.

Around us, the staring students quickly turned away, though many continued to dart glances back at us.

"Let's see how far we can put up with each other, ne?" Both of us smiled in anticipation.

Challenge was what brought us together. Challenge was what tore us apart. Challenge was what bonded us again. And challenge was what would keep the relationship unbroken.

**A/N: Definitely too much about 'challenge'. I'm terrible at endings, aren't I? T.T and too much mush too… sob sob… review please!!! I'll only see you one more time in the last chapter!!!**


	43. Epilogue: Inbred

Epilogue: Inbred 

FUJI

Almost fifteen years later, neither of us had lost that particular challenge yet. I was a high-level executive in the Fujifilm photography and camera company; Tsuki was a successful surgeon and ran a small modeling organization called 'Silver', endorsed by Yukimi, the capable head of the Koori empire with Seichii ruling beside her.

We didn't boast of our affluence, despite the fact that we were practically rolling in cash. We acted like normal people – we invested in stocks and shares; watched our expenditure, etc. But when it came to our children… if something was really required, meaning that it was essential, we didn't mind forking out. And maybe it was because of that that they turned out the way they did. There were four of them, and we were proud of all.

The eldest, Ryou, had been named a music tensai this year, at the age of eight, the same age as Tsuki had been. We'd paid for all the tuition, the instruments, the competitions – it had been worth it. The small boy, who was a silver-haired version of myself excluding the smile – he was much more serious, rather Tezuka-like; where he'd got that from neither of us knew – had a name for himself already. He was Fuji Ryou, the music tensai who could kill us with the beauty of his playing, whether it was a violin, piano, flute, harp, or the old, traditional Japanese koto.

After Ryou were the twins, Haruzuki and Akizuki, just a year younger than him. Looks-wise, they were female versions of their older brother, but nowhere near as serious Unlike Ryou, they decided that the outdoors were much more interesting than being cooped up inside, and naturally we taught them how to play tennis and badminton in summer and how to ski and skate in winter. In all four sports, they were good enough to be entered for competitions in the under-ten category at least. They still hadn't been officially called tensais, but once they started entering competitions, the world would know them as the twin genii.

Two years after them was our youngest, Yutarou. He was different from the first three. They were small and delicate; he was painfully scrawny and undersized. It wasn't due to a gene mutation, but because he'd been born prematurely – in the seventh month instead of the ninth. He'd had to go for various surgeries in the first few months of his life, and even after that, the doctors had said that he'd have heart and lung problems for the rest of his life. Saddest of all, he was mute.

And, even though the other three had already shown a fascination with certain things almost before they could walk, Yutarou still didn't seem inclined towards anything.

RYOU

"Mother, the charity concert is today at ten," I said. "Will you be able to fetch me?"

"I should be," she replied, directing a look at Father.

"Haru, Aki, would you like to play tennis today?" inquired Father of my sisters, as if Mother had just asked him to – that was how Mother and Father communicated, without words.

Haru pouted in concentration. "I think that we –"

" – should play doubles today –" Aki put in.

" – because Sakuya-nee-chan is coming over today –" added Haru.

" – and it wouldn't be nice to leave her out," finished Aki.

Their… unique… way of finishing or continuing each other's sentences was something we were all used to by now, so nobody remarked on it.

"Saa, I'd nearly forgotten about Seiichi-kun's daughter... But who said that we can't play doubles? In fact, that was what I was about to suggest," said Father.

"Ryou, I'll take Yutarou along to your concert," Mother addressed me. "I think some of my friends may be attending it, and I want to introduce you two to them."

Father tilted his head slightly in Mother's direction, not saying anything but raising his eyebrows in a question. She saw it and answered, "Tano-san said that she'd be coming."

It was another example of their silent communication. When I was younger, I'd thought that it was normal, that all parents could do that. But then I realized that Yumiko-ba-san and her husband Kai-ji-san always had to say out loud what my parents understood without words, simple things like 'what about the kids' and 'I'll do that'.

I'd also always thought that being extremely good at things was a requirement for parents – that is, until I saw Yuki-ba-san trying to do gymnastics with Mother. My eyes still burn at the very memory.

One more thing that made my parents stand out – they were, or so everyone seemed to think, extremely beautiful. When I'd first started school, a lot of the students, particularly my sempais, were staring at them and whispering; when the teacher – a male – met Mother, he started stuttering and falling over himself. But they weren't _vain_, in a sense. They knew they looked good, but they didn't exactly go around fishing for compliments.

My parents were tensais, and thus, so were us children.

TSUKI

"Hello, Tsuki-chan. It's been a while, ne?"

I turned to see who had spoken, and there stood my old friend and captain, Tano Hikari. "Tano-san!"

She laughed. "Technically I'm not 'Tano' anymore; I'm 'Niou'. Your son Ryou is the star of this concert, if I remember correctly."

"Now that makes me feel old. I never thought I'd have kids so early," I said. "Ryou, remember Hikari-ba-san?"

My older boy nodded politely. "Ohayo, Hikari-ba-san."

"Ohayo, Ryou-kun," Hikari-chan replied. "Play well today, ne?"

"I will," he replied politely.

"And this is Yutarou," I added, gesturing at the chair beside me – Yutarou got tired easily, even just standing. "He's my youngest."

"Ohayo, Yutarou-kun," she said. "Did you come to hear your nii-san's performance?"

Yutarou stared back at Hikari-chan with large, solemn eyes before shaking his head slowly. I smiled. "He didn't come to hear Ryou's performance because he hears it all the time at home."

Hikari-chan, who'd looked rather startled, sighed in relief. "I was wondering if there was some kind of animosity between them."

Just then, the announcement blared over the sound system. "All musicians, please gather backstage immediately."

FUJI

The twins were currently trashing Sakuya-chan and I. Of course, the twins had been in sync almost since the moment they were born, and they knew exactly where the other was as well as where to move to next for the best advantage. Plus, I wasn't really trying.

"Fuji-ji-san, why are they so… together?" asked Sakuya-chan, Seiichi-kun's only child – for now. She had Yuki-chan's dark ebony curls and Seiichi-kun's soft eyes, and she was a year older than my twins.

"Maybe because they're twins," I replied, smiling. "Twins are always better at synchronizing themselves – in anything, even tennis. Don't worry, Sakuya-chan; you're also good for your age."

"But Haru-chan and Aki-chan are better," she pointed out. "I think maybe it's because you and Tsuki-ba-san are also very good at tennis… I don't know how to say it… it's in them?"

"I think you mean to say 'inbred', I said gently. "And maybe you're right. It probably _is_ inbred, their sports sense and flexibility."

TANO

"That was a truly magnificent performance," I said with real feeling after Ryou-kun had ended the grand finale with a few other fellow musicians. "It was… superb."

"Yes, it was good," said Tsuki-chan. "Ryou's been practicing for quite a while for this performance; he really likes to get things done right."

"It doesn't sound like he got those genes from either of you," I joked.

"Oh, he did. It's just on our hidden side," she replied, helping Yutarou-kun to his feet. He wobbled slightly, shaky on his feet even at the age of five when normal children should be able to walk without help.

"By the way," she continued, leading the way out, "I've been meaning to ask you why you didn't bring your husband or kid – kids? – along."

I stared at her in disbelief. "You don't know why I didn't bring them along? Why, they'd wreck the place in ten seconds flat. Koharu is a miniature of Masaharu. I swear by Buddha-sama's increasingly expanding belly-button, I really respect my in-laws for being able to bring him up to be half decent."

"At least he's healthy, though." Tsuki-chan patted Yutarou's head. "Yutarou really doesn't have much going for him. He can't do sports like my girls because of his respiratory problems; he doesn't have any inclination towards music like Ryou… really, he doesn't seem to show much interest towards anything, so far."

"Koharu has a compulsive desire to destroy the house and drive me out of my mind, and Masaharu isn't exactly helping," I said dryly. "Ah, the trials of a married woman…"

Tsuki-chan laughed. "Yes, indeed so." Catching sight of her elder son, she waved a hand to catch his attention.

"I made a mistake in the third movement," said Ryou-kun upon reaching us.

"I couldn't hear a thing," I told him. "It's fine."

"Just try harder next time," his mother said with an encouraging smile. "After all, you've got it in your own veins to be a tensai – it's inbred."

YUTAROU

"_He can't do sports like my girls because of his respiratory problems; he doesn't have any inclination towards music like Ryou… really, he doesn't seem to show much interest towards anything, so far."_

I heard Mother's words repeating, again and again, over and over in my mind, like an itch that I couldn't scratch.

It wasn't my fault that I was disabled. I hadn't asked to be born early. But, as I heard her say that second set of words - _you've got it in your own veins to be a tensai – it's inbred_ – I wondered, if Ryou had it in his veins, then so should I, since we had the same parents.

I'd thought of trying music before, but Ryou was much too good already; I'd never be able to make a name with his shadow over me. In any case, although I did enjoy listening to it, I didn't feel the need to be the one to produce it – Ryou produced more than enough for the whole family.

Of course I couldn't try to do sports like Haru and Aki – I couldn't even walk normally; I still had some difficulties. But I often wondered what it was like to run freely across a wide expanse, with nothing to hold you back, least of all yourself.

For days of silent thinking – not that I could talk, in the first place – I wondered what it would be like to be able to draw, to capture the images of freedom. My brother with the music swelling out from under his fingers, his eyes half-closed as he played; my sisters, with energy pouring out of their bodies as they chased after the tennis ball. Mother and Father, with those particular smiles that were only reserved for each other.

TSUKI

"He wants to draw," I told Syuusuke.

He yawned, turning over. "I did see a sketch of Ryou playing the violin in his room… but it's not just a passing thing, is it?"

"I don't think so… because I found three more sketches, all of Ryou playing the violin, all in different angles and lightings. I think this is it for Yutarou, Syuusuke," I insisted.

"So he'll be an artist, ne?" he smiled.

"It's so well-balanced, really," I mused thoughtfully. "Ryou is a music tensai, Haru and Aki are sports tensais, and Yutarou can be the art tensai. It all works out so well."

"They all had it from us, though," he reminded me. "It's inbred."

Now I smiled too, sliding closer to him. "It's inbred… from us. What do you think would have happened if either of us lost that challenge from so long ago?"

"We'd have regretted winning," was the prompt reply. "Because then not all our kids would be tensais."

They would all be tensais, yet they wouldn't be the same. They would hopefully not go through what we had… even if the experience was similar, let it not be congruent.

OWARI

**A/N: It's over…. Boohoohoo… Not the best ending, was it? Don't kill me and please review one last time!!**

**Special thanks to my beloved faithful reviewers – Kiyoshi Kozue, Khyhara, AngelofDestiny, Jezeka, DarkShadowMuffin, xzlioness, darkxXxflames, Ki9535!!! Check out my other mulitchapters if you have yet to do so!!**


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